


Bubblegum Pop

by NekoMajo



Category: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Anxiety, Awkward situations, Comedy, Crossdressing, Gen, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-23
Updated: 2017-10-06
Packaged: 2018-04-10 20:16:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 54,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4406081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NekoMajo/pseuds/NekoMajo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After witnessing a murder, Cloud must disguise himself as a girl to hide from the criminals searching for him. Once in his new home and school, he meets several new people that he becomes close to, despite the awkwardness of his situation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I had written this fanfic years ago and only recently re-typed it. I haven't written any fan works for sometime, so I hope this turned out well.

“...fuck...” a blond teenager sighed as he hiked up a steep hill towards the old house that he lived in. When he finally reached the front door, he hesitated before he entered the home, knowing who waited for him. Taking a deep breath, he tried to get inside as quietly as possible, hoping to escape up into his room without being noticed.

  
“You’re late Cloud.”  
  
The young man stopped dead in his tracks at the bottom of the stairs, a cold sweat on his brow. “...I was asked to stay behind. My teacher wanted to talk to me.” He said turning to look at his uncle, who was sat in the living room.  
  
The older man had been staring at the TV, a beer in his right hand, “Bullshit.” He spoke rather calmly as he stood up from the couch and walked over to the teenager. “It doesn’t take two hours to talk to your teacher.” He glared coldly at him.  
  
“H-he was busy...” Cloud tensed when his uncle got closer, “He told me not to leave until I s-spoke with him and I didn't have money for a bus.” He tried to explain looking up at the older man, “I had to wal—” the teenager stumbled back, holding his arms over his face when the half full can of beer was thrown at him.  
  
“I don’t give a shit!” his uncle snarled as he approached the boy, “You get home when you’re told!" he tugged harshly on the blond's shirt, making him face him, "Do you understand!?”  
  
Cloud looked up at the man, trying not to glare. It was so tempting to spit in this bastard's face, but he knew that would only end badly. “...yes sir.” he managed to say in a low tone, his throat becoming dry.  
  
There was a pause before he felt a hard smack across the back of his head, making him fall onto the stairs. “Fucking brat. Get in your room!” the man yelled at his nephew, kicking his leg as he tried to scramble away, “I don’t wanna see your fucking face! You look just like the slut that gave birth to you!”  
  
Cloud Stumbled as he ran up the stairs and down the hall to his bedroom, trying to escape that man’s menacing voice. He closed the door quickly and locked it, not relaxing until he was sure that his uncle hadn’t followed him up to scream at him some more.  
  
When several seconds of silence passed, the blond moved away from the door and staggered onto his bed. He lets out an unsteady breath and curled up into a ball, his body shaking with fear and anger. “Bastard.” He mumbled and hugged himself tightly, hating the way his life was at the moment.  
  
Cloud had been brought up by his single mother, ever since his father passed away when he was small. She was a kind and cheerful woman who always did what she could for her son, even though they did not have much money. Despite all these circumstances, the blond could easily say that he'd experienced a wonderful childhood.  
  
Unfortunately, his life took a drastic turn just before he turned sixteen when his mother passed away. The home they lived in had caught fire one night, and while they both made it out, his mother died in hospital hours later. Cloud had not been given much time to grieve, since he was placed into the care of his only living relative, his uncle Jared.  
  
The first day they met, he said that he couldn’t care less about Cloud and would dump him in a ditch if he could get away with it. For reasons unknown to the blond, his uncle had a grudge against his mother and slandered her name ever chance he could. If that wasn't reason enough to hate him, Jared was also an abusive alcoholic, who dabbled in some illegal businesses. It was hard to fathom how he was still a free man, when he’d been arrested several times.  
  
At the start, Cloud had considered telling someone about what he was putting up with, but he felt that he couldn't trust anyone. He was never good at making friends and after his mother's death, he'd closed himself off from people completely. He wouldn't let himself ask teachers for help either. He had seen too many shitty adults and had no faith in the legal system, since this was where they put him.  
  
Cloud sighed to himself as he glanced at the calendar in his wall, he had been counting the days since he turned seventeen, five weeks ago. Less than a year left to wait, before he'd be able to walk out of this place and never look back.  
  
It had been difficult, but the blond had managed to save a little money every week from his weekend delivery job. He had been planning his escape to freedom since the first week of being sent to live with Jared, preparing for the precise moment he'd leave..  
  
_"No much longer..."_ he told himself, even though time seemed to move agonisingly slow while he was here.  
  
A loud crash from down stairs brought the teenager out of his thoughts and made him cringe. He grabbed his pillow and covered his head, trying to block out the rest of the world. Each night he when he fell asleep he always prayed that he’d wake up somewhere else.  
  
*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*  
  
It wasn't until two days later, when Cloud heard his uncle speak to him again. The man usually ignored the teenager most of the time, unless he was drunk and looking for an outlet for his frustrations.  
  
"I'm having a meeting tonight. You better stay in your room." Jared spoke in an even tone as he watched his nephew cleaning the dishes.  
  
"Yes sir." the blond nodded. This was nothing new, his uncle often had people come over to the house. He really didn't care what his uncle was into, and he was glad that the older man obviously wanted to keep him separate from it.  
  
"Jared." Cloud tensed when he recognised a voice that called from the front door, as another man came into the house. He quickly tried to finish his chore, while his uncle greeted his friend.  
  
The man was called Roland, if he remembered correctly, was a tall strong built man, with shaggy auburn hair. He was Jared's partner and trusted associate in his illegal dealings. "Well, hello Cloud." he heard the man chuckle as he walked into the kitchen, "It's been a while."  
  
"Hi..." the blond replied quietly, trying not to give away how uncomfortable he felt. He did not like this man. Ever since he first met him, he could always feel the man leering at him, and he often invaded his personal space.  
  
The teenager suppressed a cringe when he felt a hand on his back, "You just get cuter every time I see you." he heard Roland chuckle closely behind him, "Pretty boy like you could make good money..." his hand moved down until it was firmly on the teenager's hip, "In the right business."  
  
Cloud's hands trembled as he quickly put the last of the plates on the drying rack and wiped his hands with the cloth, "May I go to my room now?" he asked his uncle, stepping away from the other man. He had learned a while ago not to storm out of a room without asking, since it would be used against him.  
  
Jared sneered at his nephew, "Yeah, get lost." he looked amused as the teenager fled from the kitchen and back up the stairs. It wasn't surprising he'd allow his friend to act like a lecher, considering what else they were probably into, but it still made the blond furious.  
  
Cloud bit the inside of his cheek, when he heard Roland say something to his uncle, making him laugh loudly. Knowing it was probably something vulgar, he was happy he had not caught what he said. Feeling he wasn't moving fast enough, he broke into a sprint as he headed to his room. As much as he hated Jared, he despised his friend so much more.  
  
"Fuck." the blond swore aloud, once he was in the safety of his room. He roughly rubbed a hand over his hair and flicked his long ponytail back over his shoulder. He glared tiredly at his desk, his schoolwork barely touched and he still had to be up early for his delivery job tomorrow.  
  
"I hate my life..." he muttered to himself as he slumped into the hard, wooden chair and just stared at the worksheets. After a few minutes of scowling, he finally grabbed a pen and began doing his homework.  
  
A few hour later, Cloud opened his dry, tired eyes, "Mn...?" he groaned softly as he looked around, feeling confused. He was awkwardly bent over his desk, his lips sticking to the paper he was laying his face on. Sitting up, he wondered how he managed to fall asleep without knowing.  
  
Rubbing his eyes, he reached across his desk grabbed the clock on the side, "Two hours? Shit." he swore and threw the item carelessly across his scattered paperwork. He knew that he would not be able to fall back asleep now. Ever since he ended up in this hell hole, the blond had been suffering from random bouts of insomnia.  
  
Sighing heavily, Cloud left his room and headed to the bathroom down the hall to wash his face. Suddenly, there was a slam from the bottom of the stairs and the boy jumped, snapping him completely awake.  
  
“Son of a bitch!” he heard his uncle yell.  
  
There was another crash. It sounded like a chair had been flipped over. “I-I swear I d-didn’t tell them anything!” a voice Cloud didn’t recognise stuttered.  
  
The teenager took a deep breath and slowly approached the banister. Looking down he spotted someone heading towards the front door. He flinched and ducked down to hide when he saw his uncle walking after another man to stop him from leaving.  
  
“Where do you think you’re going?!” Jared snarled, grabbing the guy by his arm and pushing him against the nearest wall.  
  
Now in the light, the man looked a little familiar to the blond. He’d visited the house once before and was also involved with his uncle's work, “I swear to you I d-didn’t!” his voice was wavering, his legs shaking as he lent against the wall.  
  
“Really? Well our source tells us differently.” Roland walked out of the living room, towards them, his tone was unnervingly calm, "We know you spoke to someone about our plans."  
  
Without warning,  Jared pulled the man from the wall and punched him in the gut. “Tell me what you fucking told them!” he hollered, watching the other sink to the floor, holding his stomach.  
  
Cloud put a hand over his mouth so as not to make a loud sound. He’d seen his uncle angry and violent before, but not to this extent. He was intimidated by this man already and this just pushed that to far more frightening levels.  
  
The blond couldn’t hear what they were saying, the man on the floor was speaking in a low tone, telling his uncle what he wanted to know. After a few minutes Jared and Roland spoke to each other after hearing the confession.  
  
Cloud swallowed thickly, the tension in the air was almost chocking. He knew he shouldn't be watching this, he'd been told to stay in his room. But despite his common sense telling him to move away, he couldn’t tear his eyes off the three men.  
  
Jared moved back over to the man and kicked his legs when he tried to stand up, “...you let us down man.” He shook his head and sighed, stepping to the side, as Roland pulled something out of his jacket.  
  
Cloud’s eyes widened when he saw the light reflect off the surface of the black hand gun. “N-no, please!” the man stuttered and got up on his knees, begging for his life.  
  
“Sorry my friend.” Jared sneered, “But we have to let you go.” He said and gave a nod to Roland who smirked.  
  
“N-no wai—” The man couldn’t even finish his last sentence before a loud shot rang through the house, silencing everything.  
  
Cloud felt his body run cold as he watched the lifeless man drop to the floor with a thud, a large spray of red left on the wall behind him. The teenager covered his mouth, almost throwing up as he watched the blood pooling from the wound in the man’s head all over the wooden floor.  
  
The blond continued to stare as his uncle and Roland began talking again, acting as if there wasn't a dead body if front of them. "...Cloud may have heard that." he heard Jared say, bringing him out of his state of shock.  
  
Cloud moved backwards from where he was, roughly hitting his shoulder into a small table that sat in the hallway. The furniture tilted from the impact and hit the floor loudly. _"Shit!"_ He tensed when he heard the two men react to the sound. Getting quickly to his feet, the teenager made  a dash back to his room.  
  
After locking the door the blond just stared at it, not sure of what to do now, his brain still trying to comprehend what he just witnessed. When he caught the sound of heavy footsteps approaching his room, he began backing up towards the window.  
  
_"He's going to kill me, he's going to kill me..."_ his thoughts repeated over and over, his legs threatening to give out underneath him.  
  
He jumped when there was a few hard knocks at his door, “Cloud. I’d like to talk to you.” His uncle’s voice was quiet, but he still sounded angry. When there was no reply the man began to pull on the door knob, trying to force it open, "Open the fucking door Cloud!" he shouted in frustration.  
  
That was all it took for Cloud to snap back to his senses. The boy turned away and climbing through his bedroom window. Using the pipe that sat along the length of the outside wall, the blond quickly made it to the ground.  
  
There was a loud crash from within his room, his door had been forced open, "Cloud!" Hearing the threatening tone in the man's voice, the teenager took off at full speed, far too afraid to even glance back over his shoulder.  
  
The blond turned sharply and ran into the thick woods behind the scattered houses, hoping to evade anyone who might be following him. He never stopped running, even when he tripped and stumbled over the uneven ground and catching his bare feet on discarded branches, leaving them sore and bruised.  
  
Eventually, Cloud saw the lights of streetlamps through the trees as he reached the edge of the forest. Panting heavily, he stumbled through the empty streets, towards the police station. Although he had a hard time trusting the legal system, seeing someone murdered in cold blood was enough to make him change his mind.  
  
Entering through the heavy doors, the blond made his way over to a desk, where a woman was sat doing paper work. Before he could try saying anything, he tripped over his foot and landed on the desk, startling the officer.  
  
The brown haired lady stared at the teenager with a surprised expression, “...may I help you?” she asked.  
  
Cloud kept his eyes on the wooden surface of the desk, not really sure how to answer her. “I... I...” He felt his throat close up as he tried to speak, “I just...” he began sobbing and collapsed to the floor, unable to hold himself up anymore. He was vaguely aware of the female officer coming to his side, asking him if he was alright.  
  
“I’ll take it from here.” Cloud head a man's voice from behind them. The woman moved away from him and he felt himself being lifted up and taken into a nearby office.  
  
Cloud is dropped into a chair and struggles to keep himself up right as he continued to cry. The dark haired man walked around him and to a desk and sits opposite of the boy, patiently waiting for him to calm down.  
  
The teenager leans on the arm of the chair, covering his face as he tried to muffle his sobbing. It took him a few moments before he got his breathing under control and pull himself together. Moving to sit up more, he glanced over at the man, who was now reading through some files.  
  
“You’re Cloud Strife, correct?” the man’s sudden question caught the boy by surprise.  
  
The blond's eyes widened, “...h-how do you know—”  
  
"My name is Reeve Tuesti." the man interrupted him, idly scratched his beard as he flicked the papers, "I'm part of a special unit with the FBI that has been recently called in to investigate your uncle."  
  
Cloud gave him a confused look, “Special unit..?”  
  
Reeve nodded, “That’s right.” He closed the file and placed it to one side, before picking up another one. "Your uncle may not be very high up in his underground operations, but he manages to get the jobs he set done without problems..." he glanced at the boy and paused to see if he's respond, when he didn't he carried on talking, "Illegal drugs and weapon smuggling and occasionally murder."  
  
Cloud tried to fight back more tears at the last part, as the man continued, “Your uncle has many friends on both sides of the law.” he sounded so casual as he spoke about it, “Because of this, any witnesses that come forward, always retract their statements or simply disappear.”  
  
“D-disappear?” Cloud questioned weakly, unsure he was hearing him correctly.  
  
“Yes.” Reeve nodded, “That’s why he’s still a free man.” he set the papers aside and stood up to walk around the desk, "In situations like this one, my team is called in to resolve the problem, with any means we deem necessary."  
  
Cloud felt himself sway slightly, unable to comprehend this new information. He knew his uncle was into some shady stuff, but he never thought it was something this big. The realisation of just how much danger he'd been in, was slowly becoming more clear with each passing second.  
  
"We work outside the usual law system." Reeve started speaking again, "This helps to ensure that..." he trailed off as he watched the teenager begin to shake, "Um, can I get you something? Some food, or a drink... a bucket maybe?” he added the last part as he saw colour drain from the boy's face.  
  
The boy didn't answer him and just hunched over where he was sitting, holding his hand over his mouth. Reeve reacted quickly and moved to help him before he vomited on the floor.  
  
*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*  
  
The next few hours were like a blur to Cloud, but he was coherent enough to focus when Reeve said that his team were going to hide him. However in exchange, he must appear in court and tell the judge what he witnessed and have his uncle convicted. The blond could not justify his insane decision, but he agreed to the FBI agent’s terms.  
  
It wasn’t until the following afternoon, that Cloud discovered just how much he’d regret his choice. The young boy was now several miles away from his hometown in a temporary safe house, where Reeve revealed the plan to him in full detail.  
  
“Th-that’s...” the blond stuttered, staring at the bearded man in disbelief, “I can’t do that!” he exclaimed, looking horrified.  
  
“My colleagues and I have discussed this plan a number of times.” Reeve said calmly, gesturing to the other two agent’s in the room. There was a tall bald man wearing sunglasses and a pretty woman with long curly hair. “It’s one of the safest ways to hide you... honestly I can’t think of a better way.” He chuckled.  
  
The teenager glared and got out of his seat, “Oh can’t you?!” he groaned, running his hands through his spiky blond hair, “...I can’t...” he took a deep breath, having trouble even saying it, “I can’t pose as a girl!”  
  
“I understand that it’s not ideal—”  
  
“That’s an understatement!” Cloud moved around the room, muttering to himself before eventually finding his way back to his seat, “...it’s humiliating...” he sighed, putting his face in his hands. He never had anything against people who wanted to cross dress, it was their choice and that was fine. But he never found it appealing for himself and he dreaded the thought.  
  
There was a long pause from the teenager as he stared down at his feet. “...is it really the best way?” he asked, not lifting his head.  
  
“Yes.” The female agent, Cissnei stepped forward, "We operate differently when hiding witnesses, so we are able to conceal your name from school enrolment and housing programs." she explained, taking a seat on the sofa with the teenager, "However, the gender must be present on our reports."  
  
She tilted her head to one side, smiling gently at him, “Your uncle's connections in the law force will be looking for a boy in the records of the witness protection program.” she sounded so sincere as she spoke, the blond couldn't help but listen to her.  
  
Cloud breathed deeply, calming himself down, “...I understand...” he frowned and looked up at the Reeve, “How long will it take to get a court date?”  
  
This time the other man, Rude, stepped forward, “We estimate three to four months.” He answered the boy in a stern voice, adjusting his sunglasses.  
  
The blond let out a groan and slumped in his seat, “That’ll feel like forever!” he covered his face with his hands, groaning in frustration.  
  
Cissnei smiled at the blond, “Listen Cloud...” she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder getting him to sit up again. “Me and Rude will be a few blocks away from you the entire time and we’ve made arrangements for your protection at the school as well.”  
  
Cloud’s cheeks flushed a little. While that was comforting in a way, it still didn't remove the fact that he had to dress like a girl. Exactly how was he supposed to pull that off and keep it going for months?  
  
"Do... Do I have to be in a school?" he asked, not fond of that part either. Cross dressing was bad enough, but having to go outside almost daily, was far worse.  
  
"Yes." Reeve gave a firm nod, "I'm sure I don't have to explain why it's in your best interest to finish high school." he had a slightly amused smile on his face, "Beside, I have picked out the perfect place. You'll be safe there."  
  
The blond pursed his lips and scowled at the floor. Of course he knew staying in school was the best option, he needed to bring his grades back up since he almost didn't pass last year's exams.  
  
“If you find that you cannot handle the situation, we will relocate you.” Reeve spoke again after a moment, “We only ask that you try.”  
  
Running a hand through his messy blond hair, the teenager sat up and looked at him, “...alright.” he finally said with a heavy sigh of defeat.


	2. A Beautiful Stranger, Tall and Fair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, chapter 2 is done! And yes, I am a big dork for using that for the chapter title XD Couldn't help myself.

Cloud's eyes fluttered open, when he felt the car hit a bump in the road. Greeted with blinding light, he shut them again tightly. It had still been dark outside after they changed cars in Junon. How long had he asleep for?  
  
"Good morning." he heard Reeve say. He was sat in the driver's seat in front of the teenager, "We still have a little ways to go, before we reach the city." he told him, keeping his eyes on the road.  
  
Cloud rubbed his eyes, groaning a little as he tried to shake off his drowsiness. Glancing back out the window he frowned at the view. Having lived in a small country village his whole life, he'd never seen a barren wasteland like this before. With the exception of the road they were travelling on, there was nothing but sand and giant rocks for miles.  
  
"Hey Cloud." the blond looked back, when his name was called, "Want a candy?" Cissnei lent over the back of her chair and held out a bag of fruit gummies to him.  
  
Cloud blinked at the bag, now beginning to feel a little queasy from the movements of the car, "No thanks." He managed a smile and shook his head.  
  
"Okay." the woman shrugged and then tossed the rest of the bag to Rude, who was sat beside the blond, "I saved you all the pineapple ones."  
  
"Thank you." the bald man nodded, rolling the bag up neatly, before putting it in the breast pocket of his suit.   
   
Reeve gave a frustrated sigh, "Sit down and put your seatbelt back on!" He actually sounded like a nagging parent, "Don't make me call your superior!"  
  
Rolling her eyes, Cissnei turned and sat properly in her seat, "Right, right." she grinned, sounding greatly amused, "There's no need to threaten me with Tseng."  
  
The conversation had piqued Cloud's interest enough for him to ignore his motion sickness a little, "I thought you were their superior..." he leaned to the side, to look at the dark haired man. He was sure that Reeve was the boss, since he was leading the investigation.  
  
"No, no." he shook his head, laughing a little, "I'm only in charge of this particular case. Their boss is another field agent."  
  
Cloud was surprised to then hear Rude explain further, "The director is on assignment in Wutai." he spoke in a monotone as he adjusted his sunglasses.  
  
"I see..." Cloud nodded, not really sure how to talk to this him. Looking passed the tall man, he spotted an collection of buildings come into view on the horizon, "What's that?" he asked, the question not really directed at anyone in particular.  
  
There was a brief pause from the other people in the car, "That's the old military base." Cissnei was the one who answered him, "It closed down almost two years ago..."  
  
"Why did it close?" the blond asked, curiously looking at the abandoned base through the tinted window glass, deciding that he didn't like the look of it.  
  
Cissnei looked over her shoulder at the teenager, "That's classified." she smirked and winked at him.  
  
Cloud frowned a little. She had given him that look a few times since he met her, and it always left him confused. He couldn't tell if she was joking or being serious. The teenager blinked a little when everything went dark as they entered a tunnel through one of the large mountains.  
  
He sat back in his seat and looked out his own window, curiously looking at the man-made cave. The hollow structure was huge, it almost looked like the entire mountain had been carved out for the highway. He could just make out how high it went from the artificial lights that lined the tunnel.  
  
"Shit—!" He heard Reeve swear, before the car swerved suddenly, causing the blond to slam into Rude's side. "Damn Tonberry— Did it get the car?" he asked as he righted the vehicle on the road.  
  
Cissnei rolled down her window and peeked out, "The tires are fine, but the knife scratched up the side of the car." she informed him when she sat back.  
  
"Damnit... this is a rental." Reeve glared at the strange little critter's reflection in the wing mirror, as they drove away from it.  
  
"Well, there was a warning sign about them at the entrance." Cissnei gave him a look, "Maybe _I_ should drive?" she suggested in a cheeky tone, a slight grin on her face  
  
"Maybe _you_ should cut the sass." Reeve retorted, making her laugh.  
  
Cloud grimaced as his stomach began to churned again, making him want to puke, "Sorry, but this is a new suit." he heard Rude say, before he felt himself being gently pushed away. The bald man kept his arm straight to keep the teenager at a safe distance, just in case he did throw up.  
  
The blond scowled at him, leaning his face against the window, wishing that he could just fall back to sleep.  
  
*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*  
  
Cloud sighed to himself as he sat in the large living room of his new apartment. He looked around the empty space, feeling a little lonely. Being by himself never bothered him before, however it seemed to be getting to him right now.  
  
After bringing him here, Reeve and the others had to report to the FBI head office tonight and would return tomorrow. They assured him that he was safe here and left him with a brand new cell phone, to use if he needed their help.   
  
The blond groaned aloud, now beginning to feel everything catch up with him. The last two days had just blurred together as they rushed by and now that things had slowed down, he was able to think properly.   
  
He’d escaped his uncle and his crappy life in Nibelheim, but in exchange he was going to start a pretend life as a female student at a new school.  
  
He'd heard about Midgar his entire life and was actually where he planned to live eventually. Moving from a small town to a big city was always going to be tough, yet he believed it would be worth it. But he never thought he would be going to school here...  
  
From what Reeve had mentioned, he seems to be close with the principle and trusts him to be in on the whole operation. While he believed the man to know what he was doing, Cloud couldn't help but feeling apprehensive.  
  
_“Still better than being back there.”_ The blond thought to himself and sighed once again. He flopped down on the sofa and just stared at the ceiling for a few minutes. He began to feel restless and bored, not sure of what to do with himself.  
  
Cloud stared intently at the white surface above him before deciding that a snack would be really good right now. His new guardians had left him with a pizza when they dropped him off, but that was a while ago and there wasn't any food in the apartment yet.  
  
The blond glanced out the large living room window, there was a convenience store just down the road. Deciding it wasn't too late, the teenager got up and headed to the door. He hesitated at first, looking around before timidly stepping outside.  
  
_"It's not too far."_ He told himself, _"It should be safe..."_ taking a deep breath, he hurried down the stairs and towards the shop.  
  
After entering the automatic doors, the blond paused when he got a few looks from other customers that were shopping. The glances made him cringe, he hated people looking at him.  
  
Putting his head down, the boy grabbed a basket and quickly walked around until he found the isle he needed. He took his time looking at the snacks and sweets, carefully picking what he wanted. While he was there he also grabbed a few drinks before heading over to the counter.  
  
Cloud offered a slight smile to the employee as he scanned the items, but the man just had a tired grumpy expression as he worked. He held out his hand and told the boy the price, not so much as a blink. The blond quickly paid for the items and awkwardly walked out of the store, _“What a grouch.”_ He thought with a frown.  
  
“Hey kid.” The teenager jumped at the random voice that called him, “Got any spare change?” there was a man smoking by the bicycle rack beside the store.  
  
Cloud frowned and took a step back, looking wary, “N-no, sorry.” He replied with the best polite smile he could manage, before turning away.  
  
“C’mon, help a guy out.” The man persisted and moved from where he was stood to follow after the blond.  
  
_"Just go away!"_ The teenager thought angrily to himself. Situations like this, made him wonder if he had some invisible sign over his head that could only be seen by assholes. He contemplated calling Reeve, but he didn't want this guy to see his phone and mug him for it. “N-no, I really don’t have any.” he said, trying to keep his voice calm.  
  
To his annoyance, the guy caught up and moved so he was blocking the blond's path, “Don’t be so unfriendly kid.” he smirked, taking a puff of his cigarette and blowing it in Cloud’s face.  
  
Coughing a little, the boy gave him a cold stare and moved to step passed him. Each time the stranger would step into his way, "Leave me alone!" he finally said, glaring at the older man.  
  
The look didn't seem to faze the older man at all and he moved to grab Cloud's arm. Jumping back the teenager dropped his shopping back and swatted the offending hand away, "Fuck off!" he almost yelled, now completely pissed off.  
  
"Is there a problem here?" a new voice spoke from behind Cloud.  
  
The man passed the blond and seemed to be sizing up the other person, "No." he shrugged casually, "No problem at all."  
  
Out of the corner of his eye, Cloud could see someone move closer to stand beside him, "Good."  
  
There was a brief pause before the older man let out a snort and walked past the pair, obviously no longer interested in causing trouble. "Fuckin' brats." he mumbled as he walked away from the scene.  
  
Cloud kept his eyes on the ground as he listened to the man's fading footsteps. Now that his anger had subsided, he realised how panicked he was during that exchange. _"So much for being safe..."_  
  
"Are you okay?" the blond was snapped out of his thoughts by the question and quickly nodded. He watched the other teenager kneel down and pick up the items he dropped.  “Wow, I love this brand. It’s really good.” He said randomly with a chuckle, talking about the peach ice-tea drink as he returned it to the bag.  
  
The shorter of the two paused for a moment, "Y-yeah..." he agreed, although he was sure the other guy was just talking to himself. When the young stranger stood up again, he allowed his gaze to leave the concrete and look up,.  “...thank you...”  
  
“No problem.” The older teenager rubbed the back of his head, making the jet black spikes bounce with the movement. His skin was gorgeously tan and his eyes were the brightest blue Cloud had ever seen. They almost looked like they were glowing. “You new in town?” the boy asked with a cheerful grin, as he handed the plastic bag back to the blond.  
  
Cloud nodded again, managing a slight smile and took it, his fingers gripping it tightly. “Yeah...” he felt himself blush as his looked at the other's face. It was flawless apart from an odd cross scar on his left cheek.   
  
Realising that he had been staring he tore his eyes away, “Uh... um...” he could see his apartment over his shoulder from where they stood, “I should go... thanks again.” He took a step away as he spoke.  
  
The taller teenager’s smile dropped a little, “Uh... can I walk you home?”  he blurted out and moved to follow him.   
  
The blond's head whipped back around, and he stared at him with a surprised expression his cheeks still tinted pink. “Oh, uh... that came out wrong.” He gave a nervous laugh and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m Zack.” He grinned and held his hand out to the younger boy. "Zack Fair."  
  
The blond could feel fluttering in his stomach and he suddenly felt the urge to grin as well, “...Cloud Strife.” He spoke softly and accepted the gesture, shaking his hand.  
  
“Well Cloud.” Zack nodded, looking relieved that the other was responding to him, “Would you like me to accompany you on your way home, if you still feel a little worried?” he made his offer again with better chosen words, a charismatic smile on his face.  
  
Cloud bit his lip when he felt a tingle run up his spine, making him feel almost giddy, “Um... I don’t live very far.” He admitted and pointed, “Just down the road.”  
  
Zack looked in that direction, “I see. Is it okay if I walk you down the street then?” he asked with a more sheepish look, as if ready to be turned down.   
  
The blond teenager glanced at the building, then back at the charming boy, “S-sure...” he nodded with a shy smile, looking down at the bag in his hands. His fingers began fiddling with the plastic handles as he took a step towards his home.  
  
Zack moved quickly to walk beside him, “So, been in town long?” he asked casually, looking down at the timid blond.  
  
“No.” Cloud shook his head, “I just moved in today.” He kept his answer short, feeling nervous for some reason, but in a good way. He’d never been social in the past and was always awkward when talking to others, especially people his own age. He stole a glance at the teenager walking beside him and his stomach did a flip when he saw Zack looking at him. Those pretty eyes weren't helping matters.  
  
"Where from?" the older boy asked, watching the other's face curiously.  
  
The blond frowned a little, as he answered, "Nibelheim." he wasn't surprised when the older boy began laughing. Of course it would seem humorous to someone born in the city, his home town was as backwater as its name.  
  
"Well Midgar can be a little intimidating at first." Zack grinned widely, still chuckling a little, "I know I never really got used to it."  
  
"You're not from here?" Cloud looked up at him, his expression slightly confused.  
  
"No. I'm a country boy." The taller teenager shook his head, "From Gongaga." His smile dropped into a pout when the other began chuckling softly, "Hey, why're you laughing?"  
  
"Y-you laughed." The blond countered, covering his mouth to hide his amused smile. He never thought he'd hear a name that matched Nibelheim in ridiculousness. "It's only fair." he said, more seriously now.  
  
Zack seemed impressed by the other's retort, "Anyway, this place grows on you after a while." he shrugged as he adjusted the large bag on his shoulder, "It's a little rough around the edges, but there are some good people here." he said reassuringly.  
  
"Yeah..." the blond nodded, finding his words comforting in a way.  
  
As they neared his building Cloud stopped walking and turned to Zack, “This is fine...” he said, fidgeting with the plastic bag again, “Thank you for saving me and walking me home.” He smiled softly, still finding it hard to look at him directly.  
  
There was a chuckle from the dark haired boy, as he tilted his head down, trying to catch the blond's gaze. "No problem." he said with a vibrant smile when they made eye contact.  
  
Cloud felt heat rise to his face once again, “Um...” looking away, he quickly put his hand in the bag and pulled out one of the ice-tea drinks he’d bought, “H-here. You said you also like this too.” He spoke quietly, holding the bottle out to him. “P-please take it...” he stuttered, his cheeks now noticeably bright red.  
  
Zack seemed a little surprised at the gift, but his confident smile soon returned and took it gratefully, “I guess I’ll see you around?” He asked after a brief pause, though it wasn't really a question. “Maybe I can give you a tour of the town sometime?” he suggested, looking a little hopeful.  
  
The shorter boy chewed his lip, as his stomach began doing summersaults again. “Y-yeah...” he nodded, finally looking up, “That'd be great.”  
  
An almost ecstatic grin appeared on Zack’s face, “Awesome.” He laughed and took a few steps back, “Catch you later then.” He said before turning away.  
  
“Yeah.” Cloud nodded back and quickly walked to the stairs. When he reached his door he went to the balcony and looked over. "B-bye!" He called out and smiled brightly when he saw Zack stop and wave to him from the end of the street before he carried on his way.  
  
The blond quickly entered his apartment, holding a hand to his chest. He still had butterflies in his stomach and his heart was racing. Since he always avoided people, Cloud never had the chance to consider what his preferences were. He never really thought about if he liked boys or girls, and he still didn't know. But he couldn’t deny that Zack was definitely attractive and charming.   
  
It was a nice ending to his first day in this new place, despite the reasons for him being here. For the first time in a while, the blond slept peacefully for the whole night.


	3. Monday Mornings Suck

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, I was working on some other projects. I'll try and get the next chapter done quicker.

"Is this really necessary?" Cloud asked in a dull tone, as he stared at the item of clothing in his hands. While he had excepted his fate to be dressed like a girl, he didn't like that he would have to also be wearing a padded bra.  
  
"Be a little more grateful. I picked the most bland ones I could find." Cissnei sighed as she laid out more clothes on the bed, when she was done she turned to the teenager, "It could have been worse you know."  
  
Cloud raised an eyebrow as her, "...how— no wait, I don't want to know." he said quickly, holding up his hand to stop her, before she tried to explain. He had learned quickly that Cissnei was the teasing type, and tried to avoid asking her about embarrassing things.  
  
The young woman smirked slightly, "The bra is necessary for your disguise." she said simply with a nod, "Alright now. Take off your shirt and I'll show you how to put it on."  
  
Cloud's cheeks flushed and he pouted, "...I don't want to." he said flatly, almost childishly.  
  
Cissnei rolled her eyes and sighed again, "Well you have to." she replied in a more upbeat tone, "It won't feel uncomfortable for very long. You'll get used to it."  
  
_"I don't want to get used to it..."_ he thought sourly, but decided not to protest anymore... but that didn't stop him from complaining.   
  
The undergarment was awkward and a pain in the butt just to get on. He was however, grateful that the fake breasts on it were quite small, just noticeable enough to change his shape a little once he had clothing on.  
  
After getting fully dressed, the blond stood in front of the mirror to look at himself. He was wearing the uniform of the school he would be attending, and while it didn't look bad on him, his face didn't look like a girl's.  
  
"So, are we going for 'dude in a skirt'?" he asked sarcastically, glaring at the mirror. The lower half of his body seemed fine, since he was wearing thick tights, but his face wasn't feminine enough.  
  
"We're not done yet." Cissnei sounded amused as she gently brushed the blond's hair. She neatly styled the unruly locks into two braids, tying them neatly with little bows at the end.   
  
"This feels like too much work to do everyday..." Cloud said out loud when she made him sit in a chair to put on some basic makeup.  
  
"It probably seems that way since you're not used to it." Cissnei smiled as she worked on his eyes, being careful not to poke him, "This is nothing compared to how much make up I needed to put on when I went undercover as a man."  
  
Cloud stared at her, squinting his eyes as he tried to imagine her as male, "I can't see it." he said honestly.   
  
The auburn haired woman tried not to laugh as she finished applying the makeup, "I shall take that as a compliment." After neatening the front of his hair, she pulled him up and turned him to face the mirror again, "All done." she said, looking a little proud of herself.  
  
Cloud's grumpy expression faded to mild shock when he finally looked up. He still looked like himself, yet somehow not like a boy. He just stared quietly for a moment before leaning in for a closer look. Though the changes to his features were subtle, it was enough to make him a passable girl.  
  
"Not bad, huh?" Cissnei's voice brought him out of his thoughts, "Never under estimate what can be done with the right clothes, hair and makeup."   
  
"Yeah..." Cloud nodded, still staring at himself, "But I probably won't be able to do this as well as you..." he said, finally looking at her. It had already been explained to him that he would pretty much be living alone and he would have to replicate this everyday by himself.  
  
Cissnei smiled at him, "Well yes, undercover is one of my specialties." she shrugged casually, "But it gets easier once you know how to do it. After all, we have four days for you to get the hang of it." she laughed when Cloud's sour pout returned to his face, before dragging him out of the room to show her colleagues.  
  
As the rest of the week passed slowly, he was made to go through the whole process of hair and makeup every morning and then once more during the day, until Cissnei was sure that he had it memorised. As crazy as it sounded, she was right about it getting easier the more he practiced, but it was still uncomfortable and he had no problems telling her he still hated it.  
  
"When you get to the school tomorrow, you must meet with the Head Master, Lazard Deusericu, before you go to your class." Reeve explained to Cloud as he handed him a folder, containing his student guide, "He's fully aware of the situation and will assist you if you need it."  
  
The blond nodded silently, as he stared at the folder as Reeve continued to talk, "However, if something drastic happens, you are to contact Rude or Cissnei immediately." he handed the teenager another piece of paper, "Their numbers are already in your phone and this is where they are staying."  
  
Cloud unfolded the paper and read the address, "What about you?" he asked, looking up at him.  
  
“I have to return to Nibelheim, I’m running the investigation against your uncle.” He replied with a sigh. It made sense that he needed to be there, since that's where the illegal activities were taking place. “My number is also in your phone, but please do not call unless it's urgent."  
  
“Okay. I understand.” Cloud nodded as he leant back on the couch and zoned out for a moment while staring at the far wall. A small smile appeared on his face as his thoughts wandered back to the older teenager he'd met his first night here.   
  
Hoping to run into Zack again, he had gone back to the convenience store a few times, but he never saw him. Now the blond wondered if that was some once in a life time encounter that he’d probably never have again.  
  
_"Or maybe it didn't actually happen...”_ he thought miserably. Knowing his luck it was possible.  
  
“Cloud, are you listening?” Reeve frowned, waving his hand in front of the teenager's face, bringing him out of his daydream.  
  
“What?” the blonde’s head snapped up, “S-sorry, I’m listening now.” He smiled sheepishly and sat up, deciding to let those thoughts go, he had more important things to focus on.  
  
That night, Cloud attempted to go to bed early, but he found it increasingly difficult to fall asleep. Each time he relaxed enough to doze off, he would jump awake again, with his heart beating rapidly. He only managed to sleep for a few hours before his alarm started going off.   
  
In one swift movement, he promptly hit the snooze button and pulled the covers over his head. There was a brief blissful silence, before the ringing of his cell phone filled the room. Reluctantly, the blond forced himself up and answered the phone, “...hello?” he groaned when he answered.  
  
_“Rise and shine, you need to get up and get dressed. Home room starts at 8:50.”_ Cissnei's voice was annoyingly chipper at this early hour, _“Remember to be careful and call if you need us."_  
  
“I will.” Cloud yawned loudly, rubbing his eyes, “Bye...” he hung up the phone and sighed. He stared at his pillows, wishing that he could just stay in bed and not face the world. _“Just get it over with.”_ He told himself and heavily stomped around his room.  
  
After having it droned into his head the past few days, the blond got dressed with ease. Even the bra was easy to put on at this point. When his uniform was in order, he styled his hair into two braids and applied a little make-up, like Cissnei had shown him.   
  
When he was finished he checked himself over again in the mirror and frowned at his reflection, “This is so humiliating...” The teenager made a frustrated sound, “I hate this!” he glared at the waist high, pleated skirt that stopped just above his knees.   
  
“...fuck.” he sat down on the couch, resting his forehead on his hands, staying there for several minutes before getting up and looking in the mirror again, “Okay...I can do this.” He said firmly before he walked away from it.  
  
Slipping on a blue blazer that matched the skirt, and grabbed his school bag as he headed to the door. He paused to take a deep breath before exiting his apartment, stepping out into the slightly chilled autumn morning.  
  
As he travelled towards the nearby school, the blond came across other students that were wearing the same uniform he was. His nervousness getting the better of him, he began to walk faster, trying to avoid some curious glances. _"Crap! They must be able to tell!"_  
  
Cloud tried to calm himself and push his paranoia to the back of his mind when he stopped at the school gates, to catch his breath. Despite telling himself over and over that people weren't staring, he couldn't ignore the several pairs of eyes watching him as he entered the school grounds.  
  
Were they looking at him, or was he just paranoid? At this point he really couldn't tell. All he could do was to carry on walking and keep his eyes on the ground—  
  
“Hey blondie!” Cloud almost let out a scream, when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, Turning his head sharply, he was met with a grinning red haired boy, “You must be the new girl!?”   
  
The blond teenager just stared for a moment, “Uh... I...” Unsure of how to respond, he just pulled the friendly arm off his shoulder and stepped away. He'd never been good at socializing, even when he was dressed comfortably, and this guy just came out of nowhere.  
  
The other teenager pursed his lips and gave the blond a confused look, obviously finding the reaction odd, "What's up? You look like you're ready to puke—"  
  
“Seriously Reno!” a dark haired girl called over as she stomped towards them, giving the male student a shove, “She hasn’t even been here for five minutes and you’re already bothering her.” She moved between him and Cloud, crossing her arms with a glare.  
  
The redhead rolled his eyes, unfazed by the light push, “Seriously Tifa!" He mocked the same tone she was using to speak to him, “I was just tryin' to be friendly. You always make me out to be some sorta creep."  
  
“That's because you act like one.” Tifa said firmly with a slight smirk.  
  
Cloud could do nothing but gawk as the two began a petty argument. When he glanced around, he saw that a small crowd had gathered to watch the fighting pair. Some students were encouraging them to get violent, while others were trying to stop it from escalating.  
  
"Ow!" Cloud winced when he was shoved and tripped over someone's foot. He somehow managed to stumble out of the swarm of teenagers, but couldn't deal with the way his stomach began twisting into knots.   
  
_“I really can’t do this.”_ He cringed and rushed away from the group, running as fast as he could across the school grounds. When Cloud had finally stopped for breath, he had reached the parking lot on the other side of campus.    
  
"Shit!" He swore loudly, nearly jumping out of his skin when a motorcycle pulled into a parking space close by, “Oh man.. I really need to get out of here...” he groaned, feeling like he was going to fall apart any second. “This was such a stupid idea.” he grumbled as he pulled out his phone.  
  
There was a long pause from the blond as he stared at the screen. He really didn’t want to go through with this, but he didn't want to let anyone down either. Reeve and the others had gone to great lengths to hide him here and backing out now would only be a complete waste.  
  
_“I’m so pathetic.”_ He thought to himself and closed the phone with a sigh. He just stared at his feet, feeling defeated and mentally marking this as the worst day ever.  
  
Hearing footsteps Cloud automatically looked up when the motorcyclist from before was passing him. Time seemed to have slowed down at that precise moment when their eyes met.  
  
It took a moment for Cloud to recognize the other teenager in the day light, but it didn't take long for the realisation to quickly sink in. He was face to face, with none other than Zack.   
  
"Cloud?" The dark haired teenager had stopped walking and stared at him with a baffled expression, “...right?” he asked, looking like he didn’t believe his own eyes.  
  
The blond tried not to squeak when he felt his heart jump straight into his throat, “Y-yeah.” He stuttered a little, forcing his mouth into an awkward little smile, “H-hi...”  
  
Zack seemed at a loss for words, only snapping out of it when the bell rang through the school, signalling that home room was starting, “Uh...” he rubbed the back of his neck and looked to the ground.  
  
Cloud felt himself tense when he remembered that Zack had seen him dressed in his casual clothes, without anything that made him look like a girl, _"Shit, shit, shit!”_ the blonde’s heart began beating rapidly. How could he be so unlucky, that his cover was already blown before he even had a chance to get into the school?  
  
The taller teenager cleared his throat, catching Cloud's attention, “First day?” he asked, looking back to the blond, who blushed and nodded silently, “Lost?” when he nodded again, Zack sighed, “Where do you need to go?”  
  
Cloud blinked several times, before realising that another nod wasn't a sufficient answer to that question. “Oh, umm...” he opened his school bag and pulled out a piece of paper, “I-I need to see the head master... Mr Deur- um, Derusicus?" he said looking a little embarrassed as he obviously mispronounced the name.  
  
"Deusericus." Zack said it for him correctly, "Right. He'll be in his office in the teacher's lounge." he turned towards the school, calling over his shoulder, “I'm on my way there now. Follow me.”   
  
The blond felt a smile break out on to his face and he quickly moved to follow, happy that he hadn't been found out. “Thank you.” He said shyly, glancing up at him when they were side by side. However, his smile completely faded when he notice that Zack looked quite sombre, _“...Is he feeling unwell?”_ he wondered to himself since the older teenager was acting very differently from when they first met.  
  
Cloud began fidgeting with one of his braids, wanting to break the anxious silence somehow, “So... do you go to school here?” he asked the taller boy.  
  
“No.” Zack said flatly, not even glancing at the blond.  
  
Cloud felt his mood drop even more and he slowed his pace, falling a little bit behind the other, “Right...” he said quietly, his eyes on the floor as they walked. The halls were empty and felt quite lonely, even though he was walking with someone.  
  
Suddenly giving a heavy sigh, Zack looked at Cloud over his shoulder, “I graduated last year. I’m working as an assistant to the gym teacher.” He elaborated on his earlier answer, “I also have a part time job I go to after school hours.”  
  
The blond nodded his expression brightening, “Oh, that’s cool.” He smiled, sounding a little relieved, “D-do you want to be a teacher?”  
  
“Not really. But it’s good experience.” Zack shrugged as he turned a corner. “I’m not too sure what I want to do for a living. I kind of have a strange skill set.”  
  
“W-well, you could always try everything?” Cloud smiled, walking a little faster so he could keep up with the other's long strides, "Then you can see what suits you best."  
  
“Never really thought about that.” Zack laughed softly and directed a gentle expression at the blond, before turning away. "This is the teacher's lounge." he said with a slight smirk, "Also known as the monster's den."  
  
Cloud raised an eyebrow, "Monsters? Are the teachers that bad?" he gave the older boy a sceptical look, figuring that he was probably teasing him.  
  
Zack's smirk turned more playful as he reached for the doorknob, "Depends on your definition of bad—" he jumped when the door opened on its own.  
  
A tall man with light brown hair walked out of the lounge, holding some books to his chest. He stopped when he saw the two teenagers and gave the older of the pair a look, "Cutting it a little close aren't you Zack?" he sneered, sounding amused.  
  
The dark haired teenager rolled his eyes and stepped passed him, "Don't you have a class to get to?"  
  
The older man swatted him on the back of the head with one of his books, "Don't get fresh with me." he half heartedly scolded him. He glanced at the young blond for a moment, before he headed down the hall.  
  
Cloud frowned as he watched the man leave, "That's the English teacher." he heard Zack say, "Although he only wants to talk about _one book_!" the older teenager called after the teacher, as he lead the blond into the lounge area.  
  
Cloud kept his head down, trying not to look at the few teacher that were in there. "This is the Principal's office." Zack stopped walking when they reached the office.  
  
The blond looked at the door frowning a little, “Um, thank you.” He spoke softly, his cheeks slightly red. Although awkward at first, running into the older teenager had helped him feel less anxious and he was disappointed that they had to part ways already, "...sorry for the trouble."   
  
Zack shook his head, "It's no trouble." he watched Cloud for a moment before he reached out and ruffled his blond spikes, “Hey, cheer up.” he gave the younger teenager an encouraging smile, “The first day's always the hardest, but you'll be fine.”   
  
After a brief pause, the older boy retracted his hand and stepped away. He gave the blond a small wave before he disappeared through a door on the other side of the room.   
  
Cloud stared after the other, his hand coming up to touch the top if his own head. The contact had been so brief that he was sure he'd imagined it, but the tingling sensation that lingered told him different.   
  
He allowed a slight smile to appear on his face as he watched him leave. Hearing Zack tell him he was going to be alright, made him believe it was possible.


	4. Rules and Fan Clubs

Cloud stood nervously in front of the large oak desk and stared down at his feet as the Principal took some papers out of a file. He stole a few glances at the blond man, not liking the continuing silence. 

  
This man knew who he really was and why he was in this school in the first place, so he wasn't worried about him being suspicious of his gender. But maybe that _was_ the issue. Was his disguise not good enough, was it too obvious? As the Head Master of the school he could easily just deny Cloud admission if he thought his cover would be easily blown.   
  
"Ah, here we are." the blond teenager flinched when the older man finally spoke. Looking up he saw him smiling, holding a piece of paper, "Here's a copy of our school rules." he sounded so carefree as he handed it over, "Please read through it and sign at the bottom."  
  
"Oh..." Cloud felt a little relieved that he was only here for a formality. However his smile soon faded a little as he read through the bullet points on the sheet. Some of these rules were normal and standard, while others were just plain odd.  
  
_"Do not attempt to gain access to the contact details for any member of the faculty...?"_ the blond stared at the paper, going over the sentence in his head. Looking further down the page he saw a similar one, _"Maintain a respectable distance from your teachers when speaking to them..."  
  
_ There were quite a few talking about not getting too close to the teachers. Was it so much of a problem that they had to make it school rules?   
  
Cloud covered his mouth to hide his laugh, as he read the final rule, _"The teacher's are not interested, so don't ask."_ This had to be a joke, he was sure of it. "Umm..." he looked back up at the older man, not really sure of what to say.  
  
Lazard tilted his head to one side, smiling pleasantly, "Is there something you do not understand?"   
  
The teenager paused briefly. If this guy was playing a prank on him, then his poker face was amazing, "No... I um, just sign here right?" he smiled nervously, hoping that if he went a long with it, the head master will tell him it was a joke.  
  
"Yes, yes. Right there." the blond man nodded, pointing at the dotted line above his own signature.  
  
After writing his name, Cloud handed the paper back to the Principal and waited for the punch line, that seemed less likely to happen with each passing second. He watched the older man as he moved around his desk and went to the photocopier, making a duplicate of the rule sheet.  
  
"Here you are." Lazard smiled as he gave the teenager his copy, before putting the original in his student file, "I will show you to your class now." He straightened his blazer before leading the young blond back to the door, "Come along, _miss_ Strife." he added with a chuckle.  
  
Cloud's somewhat neutral expression turned sour and he glared at the man's back as he followed. Did he really have to emphasise the _miss_ part? Now the blond was sure that he was the teasing type and he probably just made him sign that paper for shits and giggles.  
  
The teenager said no more to the head master as he was lead through the school halls, only half listening when Lazard was pointing down corridors and telling him where they went. He was too lost in his own thoughts that he almost bumped into the man when he stopped at a classroom door.  
  
The blond watched curiously as the older blond knocked and waited patiently. The door opened a few moments later to reveal a tall dark haired man. Cloud stared as they spoke. This was one of the teachers? He looked more like a mysterious character from a dark fantasy story.   
  
Cloud then remembered the other teacher he saw when Zack showed him to the Faculty lounge. Thinking back, he wasn't what you'd picture a high school teacher to look like either. That's not to say that there aren't good looking teacher, it was just very bizarre to the blond. _"I guess things are different in a big city like this."_ he rationalised it in his head, shrugging it off.  
  
"Alright. I leave her in your hands." Lazard's voice caught the teenager's attention. He looked up to see the Principal walking passed him, "Good luck." the older man smiled and carried on walking. Cloud watched him leave, now feeling anxious again.   
  
"Miss Strife." The teacher's voice caught him off guard, making him jump, "Please come inside." Cloud looked back at the tall man, wishing he could just melt away into the floor. He really didn't want to, but it was unavoidable now. Taking a deep breath he followed him into the classroom.  
  
Cloud immediately became aware of the light whispers as he made his way to the front of the class. He kept his eyes on his shoes and tried not to listen, "Everyone, please welcome our new student, Cloud Strife." The teacher introduced him, speaking in a calm tone.  
  
After the other teenagers acknowledged their new class mate, the dark haired teacher gave him a half smile, "I apologise, we have no extra text books, so you will have to share with another student." he informed him before pointing to a vacant desk, "Please have a seat."  
  
Nodding, the blond made his way over and sat down, glancing nervously around. He reconsider the boy and girl that had started arguing earlier when he entered the school grounds. Hearing a light screeching, Cloud looked to his left and saw a girl with light brown hair, pulling her desk closer to his.  
  
Before he could say anything, she spoke first, "You can share my work book." her voice was soft, "You can also look at my notes." she added, pushing her the books on her desk closer to him.  
  
"O-oh..." Cloud glanced to the front of the class, to see if the teacher would protest. He either hadn't noticed or didn't care. "Thank you..." he finally said to the brunette, offering her a smile in return.  
  
The girls green eyes seemed to light up at his gesture, "I'm Aerith." she whispered, before turning to face the front of the class.   
  
They didn't get a chance to speak anymore, since the History lesson mainly consisted of listening and writing things down. Cloud was grateful that he was not called on to answer questions, knowing he probably wouldn’t be able to say anything if he was. The subject mainly focused on the history of the city, which he was not familiar with at all.  
  
The blond was finding it difficult to fully concentrate on what the teacher was saying. Not only was he lost, he still felt like he was on the verge of panicking, despite the friendly student sat beside him. It wasn’t until the bell rang that he snapped out of his thoughts.  
  
Cloud's brow frowned as he watched the dark haired teacher pack up his bag and leave the room. He also noticed all the other students made no move to leave, now that the class was over.  
  
"You look confused." Aerith spoke up, noticing his expression, "Our school is run a little differently to others." she explained, "It's more convenient for the teachers to move from class to class, than all the students. That way, there are less trampling incidents."  
  
Cloud frowned at her, "Trampling?"  
  
"By the way..." the brunette grinned at him, not elaborating at all, "You're hair is really cute." she giggled, when Cloud made a displeased face.   
  
Before the blond could say anything to that another voice spoke, "Kinda like a chocobo." Looking up, he saw the tall brunette from that morning, "I'm Tifa." she smiled, looking a little sheepish, “We kind of met earlier.”  
  
Cloud bit back a sigh. He hated being compared to the giant yellow bird, but he couldn't say that he was surprised. Deciding to push his annoyance aside he smiled in return, "I'm Cloud. Nice to meet you both."  
  
Before he could converse with them farther he felt something brush up his leg, moving the hem of his skirt. He quickly jumped up and glared down at the person responsible, “What the hell!?” he yelled, flattening his hands firmly down on the pleated fabric, thankful that he was wearing tights.  
  
The red haired boy gave a cheeky grin, fiddling with the pencil that he had just poked the blond with. “You got strong looking legs.” He said with a chuckle and stood up, “You should join the track team.”  
  
Tifa rounded the desk and gave the boy a good whack across the head with one of the thin notebooks, “Shut up you pervert.” she glared at him, shoving him back to his own seat, “If you can’t talk to her like a normal human being then don’t bother.”  
  
Reno laughed as he flopped into his chair, “Hey, I didn’t touch her directly.” He ducked when the brunette threw the book at his face.  
  
Cloud frowned when he felt that awkwardness sink in again as the pair started arguing, “Are you okay?” Aerith’s voice caught his attention, “Reno likes to tease people to see their reaction... but if he really upsets you, just tell him and he'll stop." She promised with a reassuring smile.  
  
The blond nodded and sat back down, “O-okay.” He glanced over at the strange redhead. Just like she said, he seemed to be the type that pushes other people's buttons to get a rise out of them. Cloud decided that he would just ignore him, he didn't have the energy to deal with someone like that right now.  
  
“He’s coming!” A boy who was looking out the classroom door suddenly yelled. All the other students scrambled to their desks and pretended like they weren’t just socialising. The sudden actions confused the new student and he looked to the door, wonder who was the cause of their panic.  
  
After a few seconds the door opened slowly and a tall man entered the classroom. He moved to the desk with long graceful strides, his hip-length silver hair swaying with his movements and glimmering when it caught the light. The teacher placed his brief case on the desk and looked up at the quiet class, “Good morning.”   
  
“Good morning sir.” The class responded.  
  
Cloud was watching in awe, he looked really cool, almost unrealistic, “A new student?” The man mused aloud looking at his notes and then turned his eyes to the room. He gave a nod to the blond when he saw him, “Welcome to my class. My name is Sephiroth Crescent.”  
  
Cloud smiled and returned the nod, “Th-thank you sir.”   
  
The silver haired man then turned his gaze to the brunette beside him, "Miss Gainsborough, please move your desk back to where it was." although he spoke softly, his voice held authority.  
  
Aerith frowned a little and paused as if she was thinking about her response, "Cloud is new and I was thinking that I could help her—"  
  
" _Aerith_." Sephiroth's green eyes almost looked like they had frosted over, "Now."  
  
The brunette sighed, pursing her lips, "Yes sir..." she agreed, looking a little dejected as she pulled the desk away and sat down.  
  
Saying no more, the teacher turned around and began writing out several problems on the board. When he was finished he instructed the class to solve them, before sitting down to read a book,  leaving his students to work in complete silence.  
  
As the lesson dragged on, Cloud did his best to focus on his work, even though math wasn’t his best subject. Feeling someone tap on his arm he looked to the person next to him. The boy smiled and handed him a folded piece of paper.  
  
Curious, the blond opened it to look and immediately his face dropped. He glared at the crude, stick figure drawing of a man humping a woman with wonky breasts. His eyes shot up to the one who passed him the note and the boy shook his head before pointing at the real culprit.   
  
Cloud's glare followed the direction that was indicated and landed on Reno. The redhead was grinning widely and giving him a thumbs up. Turning away, the blond resisted the urge to throw something, “...jerk.” before he could dispose of the letter however, he noticed a shadow looming over him.  
  
“Is there something you wish to share with the rest of the class, Strife?” Sephiroth asked, his tone holding some amusement as he stared down at the blond.  
  
Cloud's eyes widened as he felt his whole body tense, “..I... it’s not mine—” he began to explain, timidly looking up.  
  
The silver haired man turned away, without letting him finish. “Please come to the front of the class.” He said as he walked back to his desk, “You too Reno.” He added, glancing at the redhead.  
  
Cloud watched Reno get up, his grin still in place. He hesitated for a moment but did as he was told. When the two students were at the front of the class, Sephiroth sat back in his chair, “You know the drill. Show our new student what to do.” He waved a hand dismissively, as he went back to his book.  
  
“Yes sir.” Reno saluted before he retrieved two large encyclopaedias from a book shelf. After handing one to the blond, he dropped down into a squat position, holding the heavy book out on his arms, “You gotta stand like this for fifteen minutes.”  
  
"What?" Cloud gawked at him, he looked ridiculous. There was no way this was an acceptable punishment.  
  
He glanced over to the teacher, who was now ignoring them completely and none of the other students where making eye contact. When he looked back to the red haired boy next to him he sighed heavily and bent his knees, holding up the book.   
  
There wasn't even a moment where it was bearable. Within minutes his arms were shaking from the weight and he was sure that they'd fall off. _"This is the worst!"_ By the time the two teenagers were allowed to return to their desk the lesson was practically over and soon after the bell rang.  
  
Sephiroth immediately got up from his seat and gathered his things. He left a pile of worksheets on the desk, “Your homework is to complete sections 16 and 17 by Wednesday.” He told the class before heading out of the room. Once he was gone the atmosphere lightened and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
Cloud was seething and when Reno made light of their awful punishment, the blond felt something snap a little inside. Grabbing his note book, he threw it as hard as he could, hitting the other boy right in the back.  
  
"OW!" Reno jumped up, trying to rub his sore area, but unable to reach it properly, “What the fuck?!” he turned his head, scowling a little.  
  
“You’re a fucking moron!” Cloud returned the scowl and got out of his seat, despite the pain in his legs and arms, “You knew that was going to happen!” he said stomping over to pick up his book.  
  
It didn't take long for the redhead's cheeky grin to return, “Yeah, maybe...” he chuckled, “But it gave us a bonding experience, that’ll make our friendship strong.”  
  
“Fuck off!” the blond moved back to his desk and sat down with a huff. He usually maintained his composure better than that when dealing with idiots, but he already hated his situation enough without some dick causing him trouble.  
  
“Meow!” Reno laughed and imitated a cat clawing at the air, “Kitty’s got claws!”  
  
“Shut up Reno.” Tifa leant back in her chair with a smirk, “She’s not taking any of your crap.” She gave a nod to Cloud, seeming impressed with his response to the other's antics.  
  
Thankfully the next lesson seemed to pass relatively quickly without any more problems from Reno and Cloud was able to relax a little. He was grateful that lunch was quickly approaching and that meant he was half way through this awful day. _"Not much longer. You can do this."_ he told himself.  
  
After the bell rang, the blond gathered up his things and put them into his bag. Feeling his stomach growl, he regretted that he had not eaten that morning. After being so nervous about today, he didn't think he's be able to handle breakfast and skipped it.  
  
"Tifa! Aerith!" A small girl with short brown hair appeared in the door, wearing a purple version of the school uniform. “I'm here!" she waved enthusiastically, bouncing a little.  
  
Tifa stretched as she left her desk to walk over to the girl, talking to her before pointing at Cloud. The smaller girl stared at the blond before looking excited and began jumping again, tugging on her friends arm.  
  
The blond inwardly grimaced, it was obvious that they were talking about him. From what he'd seen so far, these girls didn't seem like the bullying type, but that didn't stop him from feeling a little paranoid. He'd been picked on a lot throughout his school life and it left him unable to trust people.  
  
“Ready for lunch, Cloud?” he heard Aerith ask him, causing him to look away from the pair near the door.  
  
“Yeah.” the blond smiled politely as he stood up, “See you after.” he nodded, heading to the door, and quickly passing the other two. He was used to not having any friends and being alone at school, so he was surprised when the girls called out and chased after him.  
  
“Let’s have lunch together.” Aerith said as she caught up, linking their arms together, “It’s no fun being alone on your first day.”   
  
“Yeah, and you might get lost.” Tifa added, walking on the other side of the blond.  
  
Cloud looked from side to side at the girls, not sure of what to say. Realising that's probably what Tifa and the smaller girl had been talking about, he let himself smile a little, "I'd like that..." he spoke softly, not unwilling to take them up on their offer to accompany them, "Thanks."  
  
With a nod, Tifa stepped to the side, when the other brunette from before, tried to squeeze between them, "This is Yuffei by the way." she laughed a little, petting the younger girl's head,  “She’s from the middle school section on campus.”  
  
Cloud nodded at the small brunette, “Nice to meet you.”  
  
“Oh shoot! " Aerith stopped suddenly, "I forgot it’s my turn to check the flower garden.” She pouted, looking a little sheepish as she pulled away from the blond, Yuffei taking the space when she moved, “I’ll meet you guys in a bit.” She smiled apologetically and headed down another hallway.  
  
“Gardens?” Cloud watched the brunette leave them.  
  
"Yep. Aerith's head of the club that tends them." Tifa swung her arm around the blond and began walking again, “We’ll show them to you later.” She and Yuffei then proceeded to talk his ears off as they made their way to the canteen.   
  
When they reached the large room it was already mostly full and Cloud felt a little overwhelmed with the amount of people he was seeing. There was at least three times as many students, compared to his school back home.   
  
“The food here’s pretty good.” Tifa told the blond as they got to the back of the lunch line, grabbing them each a tray. “Sometimes it’s the only thing worth coming to school for.”  
  
Cloud nodded with a smile, “Smells good.” He admitted, although he was so hungry that he would probably eat almost anything. Reaching the end of the line, Cloud opened his bag to get out his wallet, “Sh-shit...” he cursed under his breath, not being able to find it.  
  
“What’s wrong?” Tifa asked as she paid for her lunch.  
  
“M-my wallet...” the blond let out a frustrated sigh, “I must have left it at home.” He could see it clearly in his head, that dammed thing was probably sitting on the table or the couch in his living room. He couldn't believe he forgot it when it was in plain sight.  
  
Yuffei frowned, “Oh no...” she quickly opened her purse to see if she had enough to help him pay for it.  
  
“I only had enough for my own...” Tifa looked at the blond, not knowing how to help.  
  
The lunch lady glared at the three teenagers, unsympathetic to the situation, “You can’t pay, you don’t eat.” She said harshly, "Put it back and get out of line."  
  
“W-wait!” Yuffei looked at the woman, “Please, it’s her first day.” she tried to reason with her.  
  
Tifa nodded in agreement, “Can’t you let her off, just this once?”  
  
The woman glared at them as she quickly lost her patience and began arguing with the two brunettes, Cloud being stuck right in the middle. He groaned a little, feeling heat rise to his face. Just when he thought he would die from the humiliation he felt a hand on his back and someone leaning over him.  
  
"Really Debra, don't be so unreasonable." A calm voice interjected the argument, "I can pay for her."  
  
Recognising it immediately, Cloud looked over his shoulder to see Zack beside him as he held some money out to the woman. Both Tifa and Yuffei had stopped speaking and seemed genuinely surprised by this turn of events.  
  
Zack held an innocent expression on his face, it almost resembled a puppy begging for something, “C’mon Debs, you know you’re softer than you make yourself out to be.” he didn't let up on his sweet puppy-eyes, even when she scowled at him, "Just this once?" he asked, tilting his head to one side.  
  
That seemed to do it, as the woman accepted the money, “Don’t think your charms will work a second time, boy.” She grumbled, but smiled at the handsome teenager all the same.  
  
“Right, right.” The dark haired boy laughed and stepped away, “Enjoy your lunch girls.” He gave the blond a gently pat on the back before he made his way across the room and left the canteen.  
  
There was silence between the three students as they watched him leave before Debra spoke loudly, “NEXT!” she called out, her bored expression back in place.  
  
Jumping at the tone, Cloud grabbed his tray and quickly stepped aside, allowing Yuffei to pay for her lunch. He kept glancing over his shoulder at the entrance to the large room, as he followed the two girls to a table.  
  
“That was unexpected...” Yuffei mused aloud as she sat down, “I didn’t know Zack was so nice.” She said looking at Tifa. The young girl’s words made Cloud turn to them, frowning in confusion.  
  
“He is nice.” The tall brunette said with a slightly angry look on her face, “He can be the sweetest person when he wants to be.” She turned her gaze to the blond, her eyes sharp, “Do you know him Cloud?”  
  
Cloud tensed a little, her sudden change in attitude caught him off guard, “...k-kind of...” he admitted. He had no idea why, but it was obvious that Tifa didn’t like Zack or was mad with him at least. “I got lost this morning and he showed me the way to the teacher's lounge.” he told her, not wanting to mention their random first encounter, because he felt it could be taken the wrong way.  
  
Tifa’s expression softened and she gave a slight nod, “I see...” she looked down at her food for a moment and then back to the blond, “I know he seems like a cute puppy, but...” She paused for a moment. “But he's really selfish."  
  
Cloud frowned at her, “What do you mean?” So far Zack seemed like a nice guy, but then again, he couldn’t be too sure since he’d only met him a few times.  
  
Tifa went to speak but instantly shut her mouth when she saw Aerith heading over to the table. “Whew, I finished up as quickly as I could.” She smiled, a little out of breath. “I’ll be right back.” She placed her bag down at the table and headed for the back of the line to get her own lunch.  
  
Cloud noticed how awkward Tifa looked when the other brunette had walked over, “...don’t tell Aerith about this.” She said in a flat tone, before casually turning her attention back to her food.  
  
The blond nodded at her and began eating, letting the subject drop. There was obviously some history between them and Zack, but it had nothing to do with him and he did not want to get dragged into it. He already had enough to deal with.  
  
"Cloud Strife?" a voice said suddenly from behind the blond.  
  
"Hm?" the teenager stopped in mid-bite of his sandwich and turned around, "Mn!" he chewed quickly and tried to not to choke as he swallowed, "Y-yes?"  
  
Standing near the table, was a young blond girl with large brown eyes, "I'm Elena." she smiled brightly and took a leaflet off the tray she was holding, "Since you're new here, I thought I'd give you this." she handed the paper to the other blond.  
  
Cloud took the little booklet and opened it, "...fan clubs?" he looked back up at her, a little unsure of how to react.  
  
"Yep." Elena nodded, her high pigtails swaying with her movements, "I'm a member of the student council, I help monitor some of the clubs and their members."  
  
Cloud stared at her for a moment, before looking to Tifa and Yuffei for help. "I don't know if she'll be interested, Lena." the older brunette smiled at the other girl.  
  
Elena pursed her lips a little, looking quite cute when she pouted, "Aw, really?" she glanced back at the other blond, looking a bit disappointed.  
  
Feeling uncomfortable with the look he was getting, Cloud decided to humour her and read the booklet, "Wha— Mr Crescent has a fan club!?" he exclaimed, not believing his eyes.   
  
Tifa let out a laugh at the expression, "Yeah, it might seem a bit weird... but that's how it is here." she said with a casual shrug, "Our history teacher, Mr Valentine also has one."   
  
Cloud's nose creased a little, not sure how to take this information. Of course anyone could see that some of the teachers were really attractive, but having an organised club dedicated to them was a bit much, "The school allows this?"  
  
"Well..." Elena interjected, putting her tray down as she stepped closer, "They're not official clubs, like the sports or science clubs, but they're allowed as long as no problems are caused by them." she pointed to the leaflet, "They're pretty popular, I've even heard that some kids only joined because their parents have crushes on the teachers."   
  
"I see..." Cloud looked over the names, his brow still frowned in confusion.   
  
Elena watched the other blond closely, "If you ever want to join one, let me know." she smiled, "I can get you a meeting with the founders." she picked up her tray again and stepped away from the table, "See you la— oh crap!" As she was waving she spotted Reno approaching and quickly turned away.  
  
"Lena~!" the redhead ran after the girl calling to her in a sing-along tune, "Trade desserts with me!" he grinned as he pursued the blond as she moved away.  
  
"No! You're not getting my cake!" Elena yelled over her shoulder as she moved awkwardly around the tables and other students to get away from the persistent boy.  
  
Cloud watched them go, still not really sure what just happened, "This is crazy..." he spoke quietly, looking back at the pamphlet. Then the full weight of that rule sheet he signed this morning finally hit him. Was this the reason for them?  
  
A light gasp from behind him, made him flinch, "Are you joining a fan club Cloud?!"  the blond turned around to see that Aerith had returned to them.  
  
"Ah—" Cloud sputtered out some incoherent words, probably swearing, and slammed the booklet down, "N-no! I'm not into that.." He finally managed to say, his cheeks turning red, making her giggle.   
  
By the end of the day, Cloud felt completely drained and he was relieved when he was finally home. Despite hating the way he had to dress and Reno’s antics, he did enjoy the time he spent with the girls and it wasn’t so bad for his first day at new school.  
  
The blond sighed heavily as he entered his apartment and slipped off his shoes. Although he was exhausted he immediately headed to his room to remove the female disguise and changed into comfortable clothes before he allowed himself to relax.  
  
He walked into the living room and then glared at his wallet that was sat innocently on the table. He stomped over grabbing the traitorous item and shoved it into his school bag, determined not to forget it again tomorrow.  
  
He decided to get an early night again, Cloud just went to bed and tried to sleep. He told himself that things would get easier now that day one was over. It was probably wishful thinking on his part, but he wanted to believe it none the less.


	5. Awkward Levels Rising

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so late, I recently got a job and I haven't had time to write. Hope you enjoy this chapter, though I feel that it was more drabble than anything else. XD

“Cloud?” Aerith lent over the blonde’s desk, “Are you okay, you look so tired...” she frowned when the tired student looked up.

Cloud managed a half smile as he sat up, “...I’m okay.” He cleared his throat, “I just haven’t been sleeping that well...” After the shock of the move left him, his insomnia had returned, accompanied by nightmares if he did manage to doze off. 

“Well, you’d better wake up soon.” Tifa ordered with a grin, as she playfully poked his arm, “We have P.E today.”

“Oh, that’s right.” Aerith moved to sit down next to Cloud, “You haven’t met Angeal yet.” She sounded way too upbeat for so early in the morning, it baffled the blond.

"Angeal?" Cloud glanced at her, not really sure who she meant. It confused him when the students here sometimes called the teachers by their first names. After thinking, he did remember reading the name of the Gym teacher on his schedule, "Is he Mr Hewley?"

“That's him!” Tifa nodded as she finally stopped poking him, “Angeal's a pretty cool guy. You'll like him.” She said before going back to her own seat, when the teacher entered the room to start the class, "Maybe enough to join his fan club." she added over her shoulder, sniggering when the blond pouted. Ever since Elena approached him about the clubs, Tifa had found a little enjoyment from teasing him about it becoming a member.

As the lesson dragged on Cloud was paying less and less attention, too tired to even muster up the will to feel bad about blocking out the teacher's voice. He was so far gone in his thoughts of nothing that he didn't even realise the class had ended. If it weren't for Aerith and Tifa he would have continued sitting there instead of heading to the Gym.

“Cloud. Hello!” Tifa said loudly to get his attention, “Are you gonna get changed or not?” she laughed slightly at the blonde’s confused expression when he snapped out of his daze.

The teenager’s eyes widened when he saw that he was standing in the girls changing rooms, with female students undressing all around him. "Shit!" Not a second had passed, before he dashed into the shower area, a burning blush rushing up his neck, right to the tips of his ears.

“So Cloud...” Aerith stopped midsentence when she turned to see that the other student had disappeared, “Cloud?” her green eyes scanned the room, but couldn’t find the blond.

Hiding in the safety of one of the shower cubicles, Cloud took a moment to try and calm himself down. He'd never felt so guilty and ashamed in his life. Had he been paying more attention he would have tried to get in here first, instead of standing there like a moron. With a heavy sigh, the blond quickly began changing his clothes, grateful for the option of sweatpants. It was a welcome change from the skirt, even if it was only for one lesson.

Even after finishing however, the blond still did not emerge from the shower area until he was sure that all the other students were gone. “I feel like such a creep...” Cloud made a face, more uncomfortable now that he’d been so far with this whole situation. After the voices in the locker rooms faded, the blond stepped out form hiding. He found himself a free locker and put his things away, trying to be as quick as he could.

“There you are!” Tifa suddenly appeared when he turned around, making him almost yell in surprise, “C'mon or we're gonna get in trouble!” The tall brunette grabbed his hand and led him into the gym, where the rest of the girls were waiting near an area that was covered with mats, “Is he here yet?” she asked Aerith as they moved to stand beside her.

The shorter girl shook her head, “No, you just made it.” She said with a cheerful smile and looked to Cloud, who was now hiding a little behind them, trying to make himself as small as possible, “Were you nervous?”

The blond felt his cheeks flush, unable to look her in the eye yet. He simply nodded in answer and kept his head down. Seconds later the doors to the boys changing rooms opened and the male students piled into the gym to stand near the girls, followed lastly by a tall man.

"Good morning." The teacher smiled at everyone as he walked past the groups, checking attendance on a clipboard. He paused when he reached, Tifa and Aerith, noticing the unfamiliar person behind them, “Are you Cloud Strife?” he asked. 

Both girls stepped aside so he could see the blond, “Um... y-yes sir.” He managed to say, shyly glancing up. Angeal stood nearly a foot taller than Cloud, making the already timid teenager feel even smaller. Despite his intimidating physique however, the man had a kind smile and friendly eyes.

“Don't look so scared.” The teacher laughed, giving the student a reassuring pat on the shoulder, “Okay, today we will be continuing self defence training.” he spoke loudly to the class as he turned away. 

Cloud smiled as the teacher carried on talking. He seemed like a great guy and better still he was going to learn some self defence. It was impressive that the school was taking its time to teach its students how to protect themselves, considering how dangerous the city could be.

When the door to the gym opened again, the blond automatically looked over and his eyes widened when he spotted a familiar face. He hadn't seen Zack since the incident at lunch on Monday and still felt guilty about the older boy paying for his food. Cloud's turned his gaze to the matted floor, as he tried to calm the fluttering in his stomach.

"Sorry I'm late." the dark haired teenager grinned at the teacher as he ran over to stand next to him.

"Nice of you to join us, Zack." Angeal gave a sigh, but chose not to lecture his assistant for now, “Right. Everyone find an open space.” he spoke sternly, getting everyone's attention, “We’re going to start warm ups.” He smiled when he heard the whole class grimace.

For the first few minutes of warm ups, Angeal made the students run in place before stretching. Cloud found that to be not so bad and couldn't understand why his fellow classmates looked so reluctant. That was until the real exercises started.

The teacher made them do a small collection of different cardio exercises, calling them out at random, making it hard for everyone to keep up. Some of them Cloud had never heard of, and he ended up just staring blankly before trying to attempt it. Needless to say, when fifteen minutes were up, the whole room was filled with laboured breathing and a few complaints.

Angeal looked around the room, "If you have time to run your mouths, then perhaps you need to run some extra laps around the gym?" it was obviously a rhetorical question, yet it was still answered with stern protests, "I think so too. Get running."

Cloud stared at the man in disbelief, before he began to move with the group, "What is this guy, an army sergeant?" he muttered to himself, earning a giggle from the Tifa and Aerith beside him, "What?" he pursed his lips at the pair, when they didn't answer him.

Once he was satisfied with running them ragged, Angeal decided to start the actual lesson, “Okay, everyone line up!” he ordered loudly, his voice echoing through the gym.

Cloud took a moment to catch his breath as he moved to stand with the other students, almost tripping over a few feet, "S-sorry..." he whispered when he finally found a place where he could see.

"Now as I promised last week, we will now start practicing throws." Angeal smiled as the students now showed interest, "Allow me to demonstrate." he casually tossed the clipboard to the edge of the matted area and turned to Zack, "Go." he nodded to the younger man.

The teenager wasted no time in charging his mentor, attempting to strike him in a frontal assault. Cloud felt himself flinch as he watched Zack practically fly over the older man and ended up on the floor with a hard thud. Some of the students winced and he couldn't really blame them, that landing looked painful.

After having the wind literally knocked out of him, Zack groaned and scowled at the man above him, "Ow... thanks for holding back." he hissed quietly.

"Maybe that'll teach you to be on time." Angeal retorted with a chuckle as he pulled the teenager back to his feet. "For now of course you all will be starting off a little slower than that." the teacher began again as he directed his attention back to the class. He and Zack preformed the throw once more to show it step by step, before telling everyone to pair off an practice it.

Cloud gulped a little, feeling really out of place, since he seemed to be coming in to these lessons rather late, "Don' worry." Aerith smiled and linked her arm with his, "I'm sure he'll let us work in a three."

"R-really?" the blond smiled, feeling a little relieved. He would have felt guilty if one of the girls had to go find another partner, and he of course didn't want to be paired with someone he didn't really know yet.

"Yeah." The brunette nodded, "Besides, Tifa already knows a lot of this stuff. She could probably teach it herself."

The taller girl rolled her eyes as she folded her arms, "Hey, I'm not that good yet. I'm still learning too." she argued, but was smiling all the same.

Aerith grinned and playfully shoved her friend, "Don't be so modest."

“Strife!" Cloud made a small noise, when he heard Angeal suddenly call him, "You’ll be training with Zack today.” He said surprising the teenagers as well as his assistant.

When the teacher said that, a deep frown appeared on Tifa's face, “Can’t she just be with me and Aerith?” she asked him.

Angeal shook his head, “Cloud is very far behind and she needs to be taught the basics.” He said in a calm tone, but left no room for argument.

"Basics? Really?" Zack rose an eyebrow at his mentor, not looking impressed.

"Basics. Really." Angeal confirmed with a nod, trying his best not to smirk at the teenager, "Well, you said you wanted a chance to teach." he said with a shrug.

"I meant the whole class."

The teacher let out a low chuckle, that turned into a hearty laugh , "Like that was really going to happen." with that he walked away from his apprentice, obviously more amused by that than he should be.

“C’mon Tifa.” Aerith said softly and took the taller brunette's hand, before leading her away from Cloud and joined the rest of the students.

The blond stood alone for a moment, as he watched them go, “Hey.” he jumped when a hand tapped his upper back. He looked up at Zack with wide eyes, feeling his heart trying to leap out of his chest, “We’re over here.” The older boy smiled and led the smaller teenager to the edge of the matted area, so they weren't in Angeal's way.

"S-sorry..." Cloud spoke after a moment, feeling that Zack was probably put out by having to teach him.

The older boy waved a hand dismissively, "Nah, don't worry about it." he gave a shrug, "I should have seen that coming really. That guy's gotta twisted sense of humour." he said as he jerked his thumb over his shoulder in Angeal's direction.

Cloud nodded, before remembering what he wanted to tell Zack, "Um, about the other day, at lunch... thanks for helping me." he said quietly, his eyes on his feet.

The older teenager looked at him for a moment, until he realised what the blond was actually talking about, "You're welcome." he reached over and flicked one of his braids, "Now stop worrying about it." he added, seeing that Cloud was still letting it weigh on his mind.

The blond bit his lip as he finally smiled, relaxing a little, "So basics." Zack took a step back and stood in front of the younger teenager, "To do a move like that throw before, without hurting yourself, you have to know how to fall."

"...right." Cloud nodded, knowing that it probably wasn't as odd as it sounded. He used to read up on martial arts in his free time, so he knew there were ways to move your body to avoid injury.

"But, before you get to fall." Zack began again and dropped down onto one knee, "You have to roll." he then demonstrated said roll for the blond to see, slapping his arm on the floor as he did, "The idea is to avoid putting pressure on your neck and hitting your arm as you move disperses the impact." He patted the space beside him, "Try it a few times and then we can move on to the next one."

Cloud got down next to him, getting a better idea of what he was being told after he attempted the movement. He was happy when he seemed to quickly get the hang of it, that was until he had to do a back roll. 

Zack of course made it looked like the easiest thing in the world and then the blond got stuck half way over. He could tell the older boy was holding back a laugh as he helped him do it right. As the end of the lesson approached, Cloud was able to do the rolls from a standing position and much faster.

Despite his quick learning, he still felt a little envious that the other students were getting to throw each other over their shoulders. It was almost like he was sat in the kiddie corner taking baby steps. Not that he really could complain about that, Zack was actually really fun to learn from.

"Okay everyone, that's it for today." Angeal called to the students as he ended the class.

Cloud looked over to see his classmates already heading for the locker rooms to get changed, "Will we be doing more of this in Friday's class?" he asked Zack, looking a little hopeful.

The older boy shook his head, "Nope, it's only on Wednesdays, since it's a two hour lesson." he reached his arms over his head and stretched, "We'll probably do a ball game or maybe rope climbing. Angeal's not sure yet." he finished off with a shrug.

Cloud felt his smile drop at that and he sighed, "So, I'm still gonna be really far behind." he murmured, pursing his lips into a pout. He knew it wasn't anyone's fault that he came into this so late and there was nothing anyone could do about it, but that still didn't make him feel any better.

"Hey." Zack's voice broke through his thoughts, "You're a pretty fast learner." he sounded upbeat, obviously trying to encourage the younger teenager, "You'll be caught up in no time." he ended his pep talk by reaching over and ruffling Cloud's hair, "C'mon, cheer up."

Any attempt that could have been made to stop the blond from smiling, would have failed the second he felt the other's gentle hand on his head. A small laugh escaped him as he tried to shake him off, "Yeah right..." he said, wanting to persist in his pessimistic attitude, "No matter how fast I learn, I still won't catch up unless I have extra lessons, or something."

Zack pulled his hand away and paused for a moment, "Would you want some extra lessons?" he asked, catching the blond off guard.

Cloud's eyes shot up to meet his, "What?" he asked dumbly, not really sure if the older boy was just saying that or actually offering the opportunity. Unfortunately before the other could elaborate, Tifa caught his arm and began pulling him away.

"Cloud, hurry up." the brunette said, giving him a tug, Aerith was already waiting by the doors for them, "We have to get changed or we'll miss lunch."

The blond glanced at her, then back to Zack briefly, "Oh..." he then paused, "A-actually, I'll be a long in a minute." he told her and pulled his arm away. He didn't want to walk through the locker room and passed all those girls to get his stuff.

Tifa gave him a look, obviously not liking that answer, "Okay." she sighed and quickly walked off towards the other brunette. He saw Aerith glance back at him but still followed the other girl into the changing rooms.

"Was there something you needed?" the blond tensed when he heard Angeal speak behind him.

Cloud turned around quickly and stared at the teacher, "Um..." he hadn't thought of a reason to stick around, instead of getting changed. He couldn't really say that he just wanted to wait until the other's were gone, that would raise suspicion.

To his surprise, Zack stepped in, "Cloud really liked the lesson and wants extra training." he explained, thinking that may have been what the younger teenager was sticking around for.

Angeal raised an eyebrow at the younger man, "Really now?" he sounded almost amused, "I guess you would make a good instructor after all, if you sparked an interest for further learning."

Zack's expression brightened at that, "So, I can teach the class?" he asked looking hopeful.

"No." Angeal did not hesitate in his answer and ignored the glare he got, "So, you want extra lessons?" he asked the younger teenager.

Cloud stared at him as it took a moment for the question to register in his head, "Wh- what?" he practically gawked at the older man, "Seriously?! I mean, is that an option?"

Once again Angeal was sporting a bemused expression, one he had used a few times when talking to Zack that morning, "It could be." he nodded, "I'll see what we can do and let you know if it's possible."

Cloud was almost having trouble keeping up with the conversation. There was no way this was really happening. "So, would you be interested?" Zack interjected, a slight grin playing on his lips as he watched the blond's expression flip between deliriously happy and total confusion.

“I... Yes!” Cloud nodded vigorously, his spiky hair swaying as he moved, “Yes! That’d be great!”

"Alright then, it's settled." Angeal nudged the blond's shoulder to turn him around towards the locker rooms, "Now go get your lunch."

“O-okay!” Cloud felt giddy and gave Zack the biggest smile he could manage without his face splitting apart, “Thank you!” he said, before taking off towards the changing rooms, nearly tripping when he almost ran into the wrong one and corrected himself, “Bye!” he waved at the pair before vanishing.

When the blond was out of sight Angeal looked at the dark haired boy beside him, “She’s cute.” He commented, “I can see why you like her.”

Zack rolled his eyes at his mentor, looking a little sheepish, “She’s... interesting.” He admitted quietly.

Cloud hurriedly changed back into his uniform, still completely ecstatic with this new development. He wore a bright smile as he left the changing rooms and headed down the halls, with a spring in his step. Whether he gets the extra training or not, just having it offered to him has brightened his week.

“Cloud!” Tifa stepped away from the wall, where she’d been waiting for him, “Is everything okay?” she asked with a smile.

"Y-yeah, everything's fine." The blond huffed, a little out of breath from the fast walk he just did, “Why?" he noticed she didn't look that happy, despite her smile.

Tifa shifted awkwardly, looking down at her feet, "Look, I know you only just met me the other day... but will you take my advice?" she asked, finally looking up at him.

Cloud was silent for a moment, wonder what she could possibly want to tell him, "Wait... is it about Zack?" he remembered her calling him selfish him before.

The brunette sighed and nodded, "Yeah." she finally let her fake smile drop, "Look, he's not a bad guy really... but he has done some things in the past that I really can't talk about." she admitted, "...I just want you to know that he might hurt your feelings in the long run."

Cloud was glad that he finally knew what her problem was with him, although it didn't really clear anything up. There was still the question of what exactly happened. Perhaps she was his girlfriend before, but they didn't really seem like each other's type somehow. Maybe they were friends before he got here and had a falling out?

Either way, the blond held back from asking, not wanting to pry, "Thanks." he got the feeling that she wasn't saying any of this out of spite, but was genuinely looking but for him.

Finally, an actually smile appeared, "No need to thank me... I was just giving you my two cents." her posture also relaxed, "Anyway, let's go. Aerith's went to get Yuffei."

"Yeah." Cloud nodded and started walking with her. It was only after they rounded a corner that it finally dawned on him that Tifa must have thought he had a crush on Zack or something like that. "Shit..." that made his stomach jump a little and his cheeks go warm. 

How had he seriously missed that in the conversation, when it was so obvious? It was too late now to correct her, so he would just have to hope that misunderstanding would clear up on its own. That shouldn't be too hard, since he didn't have any attraction like that for the older boy. He just admired him, since he was such a cool guy. A little hero worship couldn't really count as a crush. No, definitely not.

"OW!" Cloud called out when his arm smacked into a door that had been left open.

"Are you okay?" Tifa asked him, trying not to laugh, "I tried calling to you, but you were zoned out."

"M'fine." The blond rubbed his sore arm, feeling a little stupid that he wasn't paying attention enough to see a huge door. He made a mental note to try and get an early night, so he wouldn't be so spacey tomorrow and easily distracted by random thoughts.

"Oh, by the way." Tifa started, getting his attention again, "Do you want to go shopping with me and Aerith Saturday? We can show you around town too if you wanted."

The blond paused as he considered it, "Yeah, sure. I guess." 

"Great." Tifa then waved at Aerith when she spotted her waiting near the canteen doors, "Hey! Cloud said she'll come out with us this weekend!" she called over across the hall, even though they were still approaching her.

Seemingly pleased with this news, Cloud watched the other brunette's eyes light up and she did a happy bounce. When they finally reached her she took his arm and began telling him of all the places she was going to show him and how much fun it would be.


	6. Regrets and Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cloud spends the day with Tifa and Aerith.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this has taken so long. I've had most of this written for a while, but I was having trouble closing the chapter.

Like most teenagers, Cloud had a few regrets from impulse decisions he made without much thought. Today was one of those regrets. After agreeing to see the girls today, he quickly realised that he'd have to be disguised on what should have been a day off. Now with the added bonus of no sleep the night before.  
  
So here he was, only half an hour left before he had to meet Tifa, and he was still struggling to brush the unruly mess of blond on top of his head, "Uhg! Why was I cursed with this?" He grumbled to himself, as the soft spikes continued to bounce back up in odd directions. It had always been an issue throughout his life and he sometimes wondered if he should just cut it off and wear a hat for the rest of his life.  
  
When he eventually managed to get his hair to cooperate enough to look presentable, he finished off with a little make up before getting dressed. He was grateful that the clothes Cissnei picked out for him, were fairly gender neutral and he was actually more comfortable wearing them that the school uniform.  
  
"Okay. Keys, wallet, phone..." Cloud double checked everything while walking to the front door to slip his shoes on. As he locked up he noticed that the weather was pretty nice, although the temperature was still a little chilly.  
  
The blond already spotted Tifa as he approached the corner store, "Morning~!" the brunette called out and waved. When he reached her, she linked their arms together and began leading him down the street, "So, how are you today?" she asked an amused grin on her face, "Still sore from gym yesterday?"  
  
It took a moment for Cloud to pick up on the teasing tone, then a few seconds more for him to remember the embarrassment, "Damnit!" he groaned, earning a laugh from the brunette.  
  
Yesterday in class, Angeal had decided they would play volleyball, a game that Cloud had never even watched before. Not only did he get hit in the face with the ball more than once, the embarrassment became worse when he tripped over his own foot and fell into the net.  
   
"Why'd you have to bring that up?!" Cloud pouted at the brunette, giving her a slight glare, "I'd actually forgot about it."  
  
Tifa laughed a little, "It wasn't that bad." she paused for a moment, her smirk not leaving her face, "At least you didn't rip the net when you pulled it down."  
  
Cloud wanted to disagree with her on that one, since it _was_ that bad, but instead he tried to shake it off, "Whatever..." he sighed and shrugged, not really wanting to get railed up over it again.  
  
While that incident had been humiliating, there were more important issues weighing on his mind. Such as the meeting he was going to have with Rude and Cissnei tonight to talk about the court case against his uncle. Apparently it wasn't enough for him to just show up to the thing, he had to rehearse it too.  
  
The brunette's smile faded almost immediately as she watched the other's expression turn serious, "Are you okay?" she asked, her previous teasing tone now gone.  
  
Cloud glanced at her and put up a small smile when he realised he had been frowning, “Yeah, I just have a lot of stuff on my mind...”  
  
“Anything I can help with?” the girl offered when they reached the bus stop.  
  
There was a pause from the blond. From what he'd seen of her so far, Tifa seemed like a pretty understanding person and would probably hear him out about how stressed he was. However, to talk about it, he'd have to talk about the cause and that wasn't an option. “Don’t worry about it.” he finally said.  
  
Tifa frowned a little, her new friend obviously wasn’t comfortable with talking about personal stuff just yet. “Okay. But if you ever need to talk, me and Aerith will always listen.” She told the blond with a reassuring smile and then said no more as the bus pulled up to the stop.  
  
The drive into the bigger parts of  the city was done in silence, which Cloud was grateful for. He took the opportunity to just stared blankly out the window while he tried to ignore the churning in his stomach as the bus moved.  
  
When they reached their destination, Tifa pointed down the busy street as she lead the way. "It's over here." she called over her shoulder to the blond.  
   
Cloud followed closely behind her, his nausea now replaced with awe as he looked around the large city centre that made his old home look like a ghost town. It was almost overwhelming to think about.  
  
"Ow!" the blond winced when he suddenly bumped into someone, who was rushing down the sidewalk, "S-sorry..." he tried to call after them, but the person didn't so much as glance back. Cloud's brow frowned and he turned to the other teenager, "Is everyone this rude?"  
  
Tifa laughed a little, taking the bond's hand, "Pretty much." she nodded and lead him through the crowd this time, heading towards a large building, "Don't let it get to you."  
  
After entering the mall, the pair spotted Aerith waiting for them at the bottom of the escalators, “Cloud, Tifa!!” she called out and waved at them as she ran towards them, “Before we go anywhere else, I need to show you guys something.” She said and suddenly dragged them in the direction of a store.  
  
“Whoa!” Tifa laughed as she ran to keep up, “What’s the hurry?”  
  
“It’s a sale and I don't want to miss buying them!” The light brunette giggled, holding their hands tightly as she lead them into a clothing store, “I saw the cutest set and I really want your opinions.”  
  
Cloud let a small laugh out as he was dragged along. He couldn't help but think the way she was acting was adorable, plus the thought of someone wanting his opinion on fashion was funny all on its own. However, it wasn't long before his bemusement quickly faded and was replaced with new found regret.  
  
"Okay, I really like the pink... but the blue is also cute." Aerith smiled at the pair, holding up two sets of bras for them to see. "I saw them the other day and now they're in the sale!"  
  
Cloud felt his throat go dry as a tidal wave of awkwardness washed over him. He hadn't felt this weird since he first went into the girls changing rooms at school. Tifa soon began talking to the other girl about the undergarments and the blond became so lost that he just wished he would melt into the floor.  
  
Confusion soon joined his embarrassment as the two brunettes started talking about bras in general but he was only able to catch bits of what they were saying. From what he did get, he finally realised what Cissnei had meant when she said that the padded bra she got him was _simple_.  
  
"What do you think Cloud?" Aerith's voice brought him out of his daze, and her next question caught him off guard, " Should I get the full cup or the half cup."  
  
It took several seconds for the blond to even try thinking of a response, "W-what?" Why was she talking about half and full cups? Wasn't it supposed to be A, B and C or something?  
  
"I think she could get away with a half cup." Tifa gave her opinion, "Since she's so small." she joked a little, earning a shove from the other.  
  
_"No, no, no, no..."_ Cloud stared wide eyed at the girls in front of him.  
  
After a few agonizing seconds of silence the blond cleared his throat, "I, um..." he shrugged his shoulders, trying to seem casual, "I don't really have an opinion."  
  
Aerith watched the blond as he spoke and seemed to pick up on how uncomfortable he felt, "That's fair." she said, before Tifa could respond first, "I'll just go try these on then." she added cheerfully and quickly headed towards the changing rooms.  
  
"Yeah— uh, you do that!" Cloud tried to sound enthusiastic, but it probably came out as sarcasm. With a cringe he glanced at Tifa, "I'll be... o-over there..." He quickly moved out of that area and just waited near the shoes, taking a moment to beat himself up over what just happened. Who the hell invented bras anyway? There was no need for them to be so complicated.  
  
The blond looked over his shoulder and saw that the taller brunette hadn't followed him over here, _"Great, she probably thinks I'm a weirdo."_  
  
With a heavy sigh Cloud turned his attention to the shoe rack in an attempt to distract himself and kill some time. After a little while passed the girls found the blond amongst the more over the top styles of high heel shoes, "What's with that face?" Aerith laughed when Cloud gave her a distraught look.  
  
"W-who wears theses?!" the blond exclaimed, holding up a pair of six inch high heels, held together by thin straps, "How do you even get them on?! How do you wear dental floss on your feet?!"  
  
Looking at the shoes for a moment, Tifa just gave a shrug, "You think that's bad, you should see G-Strings." she sniggered when Cloud's brows knitted together in confusion.  
  
"Tifa." Aerith gave the taller brunette a playful slap on the arm, "Don't tease her. Cloud grew up in the country... I doubt they have extreme fashions like this." she then took the shoe from the blond and put it back on the rack, "I've already paid for these, so we can go now."  
  
Cloud gave them both a sheepish look, "Sorry... I'm no good at shopping." he mumbled.  
  
"Don't sweat it." the brunette grinned at him, "It's fine if you're not into this stuff." she swung her arm around the blond as the three of them left the store.  
  
Cloud was relieved when they didn't go into many stores as they walked around, but he couldn't really get interested, despite his best efforts. He contemplated leaving early and just going home... that was until he heard various non-human noises filling the air.  
  
The blond looked up from his feet as he was lead into a large pet shop. Once again Cloud was almost overwhelmed with the size of the place and the wide variedly of animals available to buy. Sat at the front desk was a young man with chin-length, ash blond hair. He looked up when he heard the trio enter and smiled, "Good morning Aerith, Tifa." he greeted them.  
  
"Hi Essai." Aerith moved over to the counter to lean on it, "Is it just you today?"  
  
"At the moment." The guy gave a shrug and sighed, "Seb's stepped out for a while, but he should be back soon. He said something about a favour for a friend."  
  
"I see." Aerith carried on talking to him before she remembered that Cloud hadn't met him yet, "Oh yeah, meet my new friend, she just moved here... and..." the brunette trailed off as she turned around to see that the blond had vanished.  
  
"She's been over there the whole time." Tifa chuckled as she pointed to the other teenager, who was moving around the shop like a giddy child.  
  
Cloud leant over the glass box and cooed at the kittens, "Hey." his grin widened when he reached in and the little fluff balls moved in to playfully attack his fingers, "Oh shit, no!" he tried not to laugh when one of them began crawling up his coat sleeve.  
  
After placing the kitten back in safely, he moved on to the birds and began whistling to them. He wasn't surprised when the cockatiel's yellow crest shot up at the sight of him, before flattening. "Geeze, sorry." He rolled his eyes and stepped back when it hissed. Birds often reacted like that, usually because of his hair.  
  
"So, you're an animal lover then?" He glanced to his left, to see Tifa now beside him, "Do you have any pets?"  
  
"No..." Cloud shook his head, watching the bird move around the cage, still looking unimpressed with him. "We never could afford it, and I doubt I have time to look after one right now." he let his smile drop a little, before he heard barking.  
  
The blond stood up straight and whipped his head around, to see a tall man with his hair tied back, walking into the store. In his arms was a large puppy. At least Cloud assumed it was a puppy, but it looked more like a little black bear.  
  
Essai looked at his co-worker, "Really, Sebastian... like we're no pressed for space already." he mumbled with a sigh.  
  
The taller man shrugged off the comment, "It won't be for long." he paused in his walking when he spotted the small blond appear in front of him.  
  
Cloud's eyes were lit up as he looked at the puppy, "C-can I pet him?" he stuttered softly.  
  
The brunet seemed amused by the teenager's actions, "Sure... in fact—!" he stepped closer and plopped the dog into his arms, "You can hold him for a sec."  
  
It took all of Cloud's will power not  to squeal as the puppy proceeded to nuzzle his neck, before finding one of his braids to chew. "Ah, ow!" the blond giggled and shook hi head, trying to get him to let go of his hair, "H-how— Hah, how old is he?" he managed to ask between his laughter.  
  
"He'll be eight weeks on Monday." Sebastian said as he opened up an empty glass kennel, "Wanna adopt him? I think he likes you."  
  
Cloud laughed as he tried to hold onto the little squirming pup, "N-no." he glanced at the baby animal in his arms as he tilted his head to one side, making a small gruff noise before pressing his nose against his cheek, "Ha! Wish I could though."  
  
Tifa and Aerith stood on either side of the blond and proceeded to also fuss over the puppy. "What a little prince." the smaller brunette cooed, as she scratched behind the puppy's ears.  
  
"Yeah, but I bet he's a trouble maker." Tifa added, grinning at the dog when he looked at her, "Are you a trouble maker? I think you are." the giant fluff ball responded by licking and gently chewing her fingers.  
  
"Yeah, trouble makers are the best kind though. Always fun to have around." Sebastain walked back over and took the puppy from the Cloud, "But people seem reluctant to get such a big breed. He had two siblings that found homes and the breeder asked me to try and sell him here... I have someone interested, but they're still thinking about it." he explained as he put the animal into its kennel.  
  
After shutting the door, the pup put his paws up against the glass and whined, tilting his head from side to side as he watched Cloud. When he saw the blond wasn't coming over he let out some high pitched barks and whines.  
  
The teenager felt his chest tighten at the noise, "Sorry lil' buddy..." he smiled sadly and moved away, causing the puppy whinge more. He then turned away and headed for the door before his resolve vanished and he actually buys the small bear.  
  
"See you guys later." Aerith waved at the two men, before she followed Cloud and Tifa out of the store, "It's a shame, he really liked you." she smiled over her shoulder as they walked away, "I hope he finds a good home."  
  
"He will." Tifa said confidently, with a firm nod, "He's way too cute to be in there long."  
  
"Yeah." Cloud sighed. He'd love to get a dog and maybe a cat too, but he wouldn't be able to take care of them until he was older and had a job at least. Yet he had to admit that his empty apartment would be a lot nicer to go home to if he had a pet.  
  
“Cloud, stop spacing out!” Tifa said suddenly, smacking him on the back and broke into a sprint, “Last one to the food court has to carry the trays!”  
  
Aerith also rushed passed the confused blond, hitting his arm with her shopping bag, “Not gonna be me!” She giggled as she ran to catch up to the other brunette.  
  
Cloud watched them for a moment before his brain finally clicked, “Wh— wait!” he yelled and chased after them, "Where's the canteen?!" he yelled out at them, having no idea where he even needed to go. He saw Tifa point over the railings to the lower floor, where the large space was easily noticeable.  
  
While he wasn't the strongest or most talented of people, there was one thing Cloud was, and that was fast. He may have started later than the other two teenagers and didn't know his way around, but he caught up quickly and soon passed them both.  
  
By the time the trio had reached the canteen, they were out of breath, "Y-you really are part Chocobo." Tifa choked out a laugh, grinning when the blond glared at her, "Hey, it was a compliment. I wish I was as fast as one."  
  
"No fair..." Aerith half-heartedly complained, she had been last and as stated before, was the one to carry their food, "I was weighed down by my shopping." she gave a dramatic sigh as she moved to pick up a tray to use.  
  
Tifa rolled her eyes and playfully poked the other brunette, "Of course. When you're not being slowed down by your shoes, or people getting in your way—"  
  
"Hush up, or I'm gonna pinch you." Aerith turned her nose up and began walking to where she was going to get her food.  
  
While the pair bickered between them, Cloud looked around at the several places crammed into the centre of the mall. After deciding the three found a table near one of the not too crowded corners of the seating area.  
  
Before sitting down however, Tifa looked at her burger, "I knew it." she sighed, taking it off the tray, "They left in the pickles. Be right back." she said over her shoulder and headed towards the counter to get it changed.  
  
Cloud watched her go, impressed that she was actually going to complain. He personally would have just pulled them off, but he knew some people weren't like that.  
  
"So, Cloud..." Aerith began softly, getting his attention, "Have you settled in okay?" she asked with a bright smile.  
  
"Y-yeah, I guess..." he nodded, "The transitions been a little difficult." he paused for a moment, marvelling at what an understatement that was, , "But it's been okay so far... despite some embarrassing occurrences." he finished, putting on a smile.  
  
Aerith paused in mid bite of her pizza slice, "Like what happened in gym yesterday?" she asked after swallowing the mouthful. She let a small grin appear when the blond glared a little, "Sorry..." she apologised with a giggle, "But, you like it here right?"  
  
"Maybe." Cloud shrugged, finally digging into his food, "I still think it's too soon to tell really. I haven't been here long enough to decide if I hate it or not." he said bluntly.  
  
Aerith frowned a little, "Well, I hope you do like living in the city. I know I do." she looked a little pensive as she spoke, "It seems rough at first, but there are so many good people here."  
  
The blond looked at her, feeling that he's heard that somewhere before, "Have you always lived here?" he asked, wanting to shift the topic off of him.  
  
"Yes and no." Aerith smiled and shrugged her shoulders, "I was born in Icicle, but I moved here when I was five and was adopted by my mom."  
  
"You're adopted?"  
  
The brunette nodded, "Yeah. My mother runs the flower shop I set up when I was thirteen."  
  
At that the blond was intrigued, "Thirteen? You set up a shop when you were thirteen?" he asked, not quite believing her. Most young teenagers he knew just wanted to play games and have fun when not at school, not start up a business.  
  
"Yeah. We were hard pressed for money at the time, and my childhood sweet heart suggested that I start selling the flowers that I grew in my backyard." her eyes softened as she spoke, "He even helped me build a wagon at first." she then laughed, "It wasn't as cute as I had hoped. So I wanted him make another one. But he couldn't, because he lived outside the city and only visited in the summer."  
  
Cloud smiled as he watched her. It was nice to see her look so happy about it, despite the struggle it must have been, "I bet he's pretty proud of himself, since it turned into something bigger in the end."  
  
"He was..." Aerith nodded, "Although he hasn't had a chance to see it yet." her smile dropping a little, "He stopped coming to the city all together shortly after that and I didn't see him for four years."  
  
"Four years..." the blond tensed a little, when he saw that happy spark dull from her eyes, "B-but you see him now right? He came back?" he asked, hoping that this conversation wasn't turning onto a sad subject.  
  
"Yeah. He did." The brunette smiled and nodded, but did not elaborate.  
  
Cloud smiled back at her, but he couldn't help but feel that the uplifting atmosphere from before had faded away, "G-good." he said with a nod of his own, before glancing over his shoulder. Relief rushed through him as he spotted Tifa heading back over to their table.  
  
"I got a free dessert because they took so long!" the brunette grinned triumphantly as she sat down, quickly eating her burger.  
  
"Ohh, lucky." Aerith smiled brightly and looked at the ice-cream pot, "You're going to share, of course?" she asked, although it wasn't really a question.  
  
"No way!" Tifa grabbed the dessert and held it away from the other, "It has butterscotch sauce! I'm not giving it up!" she let out a laugh when the shorter girl pursued it.  
  
"Seriously?" Cloud watched the two childishly squabble over the frozen treat, "You guys should act your age." he said, smirking slightly at them.  
  
"You're just jealous cause you're not getting any of it." Tifa retorted with a smirk of her own and then stuck her tongue out.  
  
"As if." the blond huffed, "Maybe if it was caramel..."  
  
Tifa seemed to take offence to that, "No way! Butterscotch is better." she said and poked his nose.  
  
"I think both is good." Aerith chimed in to the debate, now eating the ice-cream that she managed to steal from Tifa when she got distracted. She quickly turned away when the taller brunette realised and tried to take it back.  
  
Cloud fell silent and smiled at them, glad that the previous tension had passed. He made a mental note not to bring up that subject with Aerith again, since it seemed to trouble her somehow. Maybe this guy changed after four years and things went bad between them? Or perhaps he found someone else? Either way, he really didn't want to know.  
  
The blond was quickly brought out of his thoughts when he heard some obnoxious voices calling out loudly across the food court. He turned his head and glanced over his shoulder, seeing a group of young men, close to him and the girls in age.  
  
"He~ey blondie!" one of them shouted when he saw Cloud looking, "Come over and sit on my lap." he then made an inappropriate gesture towards his crotch and wiggled his tongue, "Gonna grab them pigtails and ride you like a bike." he added, making his friends laugh.  
   
Cloud's face twisted in disgust at the action, "W-what..." he uttered, not believing what he was seeing. It was too surreal. Who in their right mind acts that way or says things like that in public?  
  
"Ignore them." he heard Tifa say, as she grabbed his head to turn it back around, "They're pathetic." the irritation was obvious in her voice, when they started yelling about her breasts, "They only do it because they can't get away with it at school."  
  
Cloud cringed a little, "They go to our school?!"  
  
"Hey, flower girl, how much for your flower?" Aerith shifted uncomfortably, knowing that comment was directed at her.  
  
At that, Tifa quickly stood up, knocking her chair over in the process, "That's it!" she snarled and turned around, looking ready to deck those idiots.  
  
"No, no!" the smaller brunette grabbed her arm, "No fighting Tifa, please." she stood up and gathered her things, "Let's just leave." she said and began pulling her along, "C'mon Cloud."  
  
"R-right." the blond nodded and moved to follow them, resisting the urge to throw something when the catcalling deteriorated into pointless insults.  
  
"Whores!" the boys carried on shouting after them as they left the canteen. That was probably what baffled Cloud the most. How exactly did walking away make them _whores_?  
  
"Does... does that happen often?" he asked the girls when they were far from the area.  
  
"Kind of." Tifa scowled, stomping slightly as she walked, "Depends on the day and which guys from the group are around..." she glanced at the blond, "Were there jerks like that back where you're from?"  
  
Cloud paused for a moment. He never hung out with anyone back home, so he couldn't say what they were like. He'd been bullied before by other boys, but even that seemed tame compared to what he just saw. "Not really... I've never seen anyone act like that really." he admitted.  
  
"That's lucky." Tifa sighed, looking a little less angry now. She glanced at the shorter girl, still clinging to her arm, "Sorry I lost my cool..." she mumbled, looking a little sheepish.  
  
Aerith was quiet for a moment before smiling at both of them, "It's fine. So, where to next?" she asked, trying to shake off the unpleasant encounter.  
  
Cloud frowned at her. She was obviously more bothered by that than she wanted to let on, "H-how about a movie?" he suggested with a shrug, not really sure if it was a good idea or not. To his surprise that was all it took to brighten the brunette's expression right back up.  
  
"What a great idea!" Aerith nodded and moved to stand between him and Tifa, linking their arms together, "There's a new movie out, I hear it's really good."  
  
"O-oh good..." Cloud gave a nervous laugh, he was never the type to go out like this often and he was feeling pretty drained already. Honestly, he just wanted to go home at this point, but he didn't want to let them down and certainly not after it was his suggestion.  
  
It was already dusk when he parted ways with Tifa at the bus stop, and then began to slowly drag himself back towards his apartment. Never before had Cloud spent so much time with other people in one day like that and he didn't know how he survived.  
  
After getting inside, the blond groaned loudly, as he leant against the wall to pry his shoes off, "I never wanna go outside again..." he said to himself and carelessly threw them aside.  
  
"Rough day?" a voice suddenly spoke, making him jump. Cloud looked up and saw Cissnei leaning against the doorframe that lead to the living room, "Did you have fun?" she asked, having known about the outing.  
  
The teenager nodded, "Y-yeah..." he paused for a moment, before he remembered that they were having a meeting tonight. "Do we have to do this now?" He asked quietly, hoping she would just let him escape to bed.  
  
When she gave him a look and pointed into the room, he let out another groan and stomped passed her, "Hey..." he said with a pout when he spotted Rude already waiting.  
  
Cissnei watched the blond take a seat, before joining him on the couch. Although she was smiling, she looked a little serious, which wasn't a good thing, based on what Cloud had seen since he met her. "W-what's wrong?" he asked meekly after a moment. While he guessed there was no emergency, he couldn't help but feel that something was up.  
  
The young woman shifted slightly, as her smile faded off a little, "Nothing is wrong." she nodded to him, "But there has been a little... miscalculation."  
  
Cloud frowned deeply, not liking where this is going, "What kind of a miscalculation?" his expression only turned more severe when his guardian clarified. She went into a long explanation about the process of getting a court date, most of which the blond didn't really get, but he knew what she was trying to tell him.  
  
When she finally finished, Cloud just stared blankly at her, “So...” he took a deep breath, “It’s going to take longer?”  
  
"Not exactly..." The woman gave him an apologetic look, obviously not comfortable with being the one to tell him this, "It's just difficult to give an exact time—"  
  
“So you don’t know?!” Cloud almost snapped at her.  
  
Cissnei paused for a moment, trying to think of anything she could add to make the situation seem better, but nothing came to mind. She looked over at her partner, silently signalling for him to say something.  
  
Rude cleared his throat, “No. We don’t know.” he said calmly, “We won’t know for a while.”  
  
Cloud let out a hollow laugh and stood up and paced around the room, “S-so, I could be stuck here for more than the three months?! Looking like this?!” he raised his voice, tugging on the braids that draped over his shoulders.  
  
When the two FBI agents stayed silent, the blond only became more angry and frustrated. Now he had more things to add to his growing list of regrets, “That's not fair!”  
  
This _wasn't_ what he agreed to.


	7. Bad Luck or No Luck

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally go this one done. It probably has some flaws, but I'm too sleepy to notice them right now. XD After not appearing in the previous chapter, Zack just seems to be rolling all over the place here. lol Well, hope you all enjoy this one.

Cloud stared down at the notebook on his desk, using his pencil to draw triangles between the lines as he paid no attention to the teacher. It had been four days since his little break down after hearing the bad news, but it felt much longer somehow.  
  
After he had calmed down a little, Cissnei explained that there were a few different dates that Reeve was pushing for. The closest time would be right at the end of December, but he was told that would be impossible to get. That only left the other two possibilities which were after the new year.  
  
Cloud understood that if it wasn't possible to get an early trial to prosecute his uncle, he'd just have to sit and wait. But he still would have preferred to have been told this from the start, before he'd agreed to it all. Strangely however, the blond wasn't angry like he was on Saturday, he actually felt very little in fact.   
  
The two previous days of school had pretty much blurred passed him. Apart from hanging out with the girls and his worries, nothing else seemed to stick in his head. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a voice told him that it was gonna come back and bite him in the butt, but he couldn't muster up the energy to care.  
  
Feeling a hand touch his arm, Cloud left his thoughts and glanced to his side, "You okay?" Aerith whispered, frowning slightly.  
  
The blond nodded and offered a tired smile, "M'fine..." he said, trying his best to reassure her. While only knowing the brunette a short time, he found that he couldn't stand the thought of making her worry.   
  
As the lesson ended, Cloud gathered his things as quickly as possible and followed the girls into the hall. He had gym class today and while he looked forward to possibly training with Zack again, there was something else he had to do first.  
  
Today he was determined not to get himself caught up in the embarrassment of the girls changing rooms again. Last week had been quite enough for him and now was the time to put some of alternate plans into action.  
  
Since they were leaving the class later than the other students, he knew there was no way he could get into the showering area before other girls started undressing. That just left option number two.  
  
 "You guys go on ahead." Cloud smiled at the brunettes as he moved away from them, "I gotta use the bathroom." he quickly explained before they could ask or try to follow.  
  
"Okay. But hurry up." Tifa nodded and turned down another hallway with Aerith.  
  
The blond was relieved that they didn't question his actions, not that they were suspicious to begin with, but he was technically lying. Even if he was going to be a few minutes late, it was worth it to avoid the locker rooms.  
  
Once he was inside the bathroom, he tried to get changed as quickly as possible. He found it a little more difficult than he first thought, given the limited space in the stall. When he finally finished, he out of the cubicle and checked that he had all of his uniform tucked under his arm before heading out.  
  
If he were to run now, he may just make it without anyone noticing—   
  
_WHAM!_  
  
Feeling something hit the other side of the door, the blond stopped dead in his tracks, "Ow! Fuck!" he heard a slightly muffled voice cry out, followed by a thud.  
  
_"Oh shit..."_ Cloud cringed a little and gingerly peeked around the half open door. Sure enough there was a person sat on the marble floor, "I-I'm sorry..." He stuttered and moved to help the blond stranger as he staggered to his feet, holding his face.   
  
The guy just raised a hand to stop the teenager, "No!" he said firmly, sounding irritated, "Don't touch me. I really..." his words faded off when he pulled his other hand away from his face, a surprising amount of blood spilling from his nose, "Oh."  
  
A look of horror spread across Cloud's face, "Oh my gods! I'm so sorry!" beginning to panic, he quickly grabbed the only thing he had to help stop the bleeding, which happened to be the white blouse to his uniform. "I-I'll take you to the nurses office."  
  
The young man held the white clumped fabric to his face, his blue eyes narrowing at the other in a slight glare. However, he did not protest again and allowed himself to be lead to the infirmary where the nurse was quite surprised to see the situation.  
  
Cloud stood awkwardly by the desk as the stranger got treated. He knew that he was now missing his class and would get in trouble, but he couldn't leave just yet, not until he was sure the other teenager was okay. Luckily it didn't seem to be as bad as it had looked with all the blood.  
  
For a moment, the blond wondered who this guy was. The nurse seemed to recognise him, but he looked too young to be part of the staff. He wasn't wearing a uniform either, so he couldn't be a student.   
  
"There we are..." The nurse smiled once she was finished cleaning up his face and checking his nose. She then retrieved a small ice pack and gave it to him. "Now for the accident form." she sighed softly and pulled out a clip board to write on.  
  
The young man watched her for a moment, before looking back at Cloud, "Here's your shirt." he said with a huff and tossed the blood stained blouse over to him.  
  
The blond caught it and nodded, still frowning, "I'm really sorry..." he said meekly.  
  
"Is that so?" the other teenager crossed one arm over his other, still holding the ice to his face, "Well then, how do you plan to make it up to me?" he asked, looking unimpressed with the simple apology.  
  
Cloud's brow frowned, "W-what do you mean...?"  
  
"What do I mean?" the stranger let out a laugh and rolled his eyes, "I'm speaking of compensation, of course." he sounded almost offended that he had to be more specific.  
  
"What?!" the blond exclaimed, "But it was an accident! There was no way I could have seen you from inside the bathroom!" he argued. If anyone was really at fault here, it was the stranger himself. He should have been paying more attention.  
  
The young man let out a huff, looking quite snobbish, "You assaulted me with a blunt instrument. Must I give my lawyer a call?"  
  
Cloud's eyes widened, "What? N-no!" He stuttered out, raising his hands. The last thing he needed right now, was some prick trying to sue him for hitting him with a door.  
  
"Good. Then you shall work for me until your dept is repaid." The other blond gave a triumphant look, "Come along then." he suddenly jumped out of the seat and grabbed Cloud's arm, dragging him out of the infirmary.  
  
"H-hey, wait! You can't just leave yet!" The nurse called after the pair, but reacted too late to stop them from leaving.  
  
_"This can't be happening!"_ Cloud thought miserably as he was dragged down the halls, "L-let go!" he yanked his arm away from the other, "I don't have time for this." Even if he wouldn't be able to take part in the lesson now, he still needed to get there and explain what happened. The longer he left it, the more trouble he'd be in.  
  
The snobby teenager shrugged, looking carefree, "Nonsense, as your new boss, I say that you do."  
  
"No, I don't!" Cloud spoke through gritted teeth, trying not to be too loud in the hallway, "And you're not my boss!" This was getting ridiculous. He of course was sorry for hitting him with the door, but that didn't mean he owed him.   
  
The other blond crossed his arms and pursed his lips, looking like a sulky child, "You're very insubordinate. Perhaps taking you to court would be a better choice?"  
  
Cloud let out a frustrated sigh, this guy was really starting to piss him off. "You know what? Fine! Sue me!" he threw his arms up in the air and turned to walk away, "You frickin' psychopath—"  
  
"There you are!" The blond visibly jumped when he heard a new voice and almost collided with another person, "I've been looking everywhere for you." he looked up to see Zack standing in front of him.  
  
Cloud felt his throat tighten, as a huge wave of different emotions crashed over him. He was mainly surprised to find that the older boy had been looking for him, but that meant that he was probably in trouble now. If the teacher had to send his assistant out to retrieve him, he probably worried everyone, "I-I'm sorry..." he managed to whisper, feeling heaps of guilt pile down on top of him.  
  
"Hello Zack." the jerk from before spoke up, wearing a falsely pleasant smile.  
  
Slight confusion crossed the dark haired teenager's features, "Rufus." he nodded, "What are you doing here and...what happened to your face?" he questioned, noticing the bandage strip across his bruised nose.  
  
"Well, I of course am here to see my brother... but I was viciously assaulted by this rather rude individual." Rufus said with a sigh and pointed at the other blond, "We were in the middle of negotiating my compensation, before you interrupted."  
  
"No, th-that's not— I just hit him with a door!" Cloud quickly contradicted him, looking back up at Zack, "It-it was an accident..."  
  
The taller teenager was silent for a moment as he took in the new information, "You hit him with a door..." he repeated quietly, looking back at Rufus. His lips soon twisted into a grin and he laughed, "You see Shinra, that's what we common folk call _karma_." He directed a rather smug look to the injured blond.  
  
While he seemed a little annoyed by that, Rufus brushed off his comment, "Regardless Fair, this girl is mine until she pays her dept." a slight grin of his own appeared, "Of course, you know all too well that I always get my way."  
  
Zack's smile dropped a little and Cloud could feel the tension mounting between them, "She's not a thing, Rufus." he said firmly, a scowl forming on his face, "Just leave her alone, okay."  
  
"Ohh, still the overprotective guard dog I see." Rufus looked at his nails, as if bored with the conversation, "Something's never change, I guess. You were trained well after all."  
  
"Go fuck yourself!" Zack snapped suddenly, his tone surprising Cloud a little.  
  
Shaking his head, Rufus waved a finger at the dark haired boy, "Such foul language is unprofessional." he said disapprovingly, "Honestly, talking like that in front of a student... you could lose your job."  
  
Cloud felt his stomach churn a little, not liking how that almost sounded like a threat. He flinched slightly, when he felt Zack's hand gently grab his shoulder, "Whatever! Do what you want." the older teenager sighed and began walking down the hall, leading the blond away.  
  
Glancing back, Cloud saw that Rufus wasn't following them, but he still had that stupid arrogant look on his face. When they were far enough away, he broke the silence, "I-I guess I missed today's class?" he asked quietly.   
  
"Yeah..." Zack replied in a soft tone, slowing his pace down a little and pulling his hand away from his back, "I'll tell Angeal what happened, while you get changed."  
  
"Okay." Cloud glanced down at his uniform he grimaced, "Oh... um, about that actually." he stopped walking, making the older boy look back at him as he presented the blood stained shirt.  
  
Figuring out what must have happened, Zack gave a sigh and smiled a little, "Right. This way then." he pointed, before heading down a hall in the opposite direction of the gym. The blond followed silently, as he was lead to the teacher's lounge.  
  
Cloud tensed a little, when he spotted the principal inside. The taller man looked like he was having trouble with the coffee maker. Finally noticing the teenagers, he frowned, "Is everything alright?" he glanced between them, looking slightly concerned.  
  
"Yeah, just gotta wash something." Zack gave a casual wave, walking further into the room, the blond trailing behind him, "By the way, if you have some alcohol handy, you better start drinking now."  
  
Lazard chuckled a little, looking at the teenager with a bemused expression, "It's a little early in the day for that, isn't it?"  
  
Stopping at the door, Zack looked over his shoulder, "Rufus is here." he said with a slight sneer.  
  
Cloud watched at the principal's face changed to a more plain, somewhat deadpan expression, "Well." clearing his throat, he put down the mug he was holding and headed towards his office, "I'll get the tequila."  
  
The blond's mouth dropped open at that, unable to tell if the headmaster was being serious or not. Trying not to think on it too much, he quietly followed Zack into the small room. Glancing around he saw several coats hanging in a closet that stood beside a washing machine and a dryer. On the other side, there was a counter with a sink and storage cupboards above it.  
  
After putting his uniform down and checking that the blood hadn't gotten on anything else, Cloud decided to break the silence again, "So... Who was that guy?" he asked, watching the older boy got to a cupboard and pull out a container of table salt.  
  
"Rufus Shinra." Zack grinned over his shoulder at the blond, "He's Lazard's younger half brother."  
  
"W-what?!"  
  
"That's right." the older boy chuckled and held his hand out for the blouse, "You smacked the Principal's brother right in the nose, with a door." his amusement grew as he watched the blond's face contort with disbelief.  
  
Cloud tugged the blood stained fabric between his hands nervously, "It..." with a flush rising to his cheeks, he finally handed the shirt over, "It was an accident." he muttered, biting his lower lip.  
  
"I know." Zack nodded and strangely tossed the blood stained clothing into the sink instead of the machine, "Well deserved none the less." he shrugged and turned the cold tap on, "Don't let it worry you, though."  
  
Curious as to what he was doing, the blond moved closer as he carried on the conversation, "But he said he was going to call his lawyer—"  
  
The older teenager let out a laugh, opening the container and pouring salt into his hand, "Of course he'd say that." reaching into the sink he began scrubbing the shirt, "That's the way he's always been."  
  
Cloud watched him, his mind now completely focused on what the older boy was doing, "Um... What are you doing?" he asked after a moment.  
  
"Getting the blood out, before washing it." Zack shrugged, "Cold water and salt work best in my opinion." he smiled, holding up the shirt.   
  
To Cloud's surprise, the blood was indeed coming out of the white fabric, "I never would have thought of that..." he leant on the counter, fascinated with watching, "Where'd you learn that?"  
  
The older teenager had a light-hearted look on his face as he worked, "Let's just say that I've been in a few fights..." he glanced at the blond, his smile growing, "...and when you live with Angeal, he makes sure you know how to keep stuff clean."  
  
Cloud's eyes widened a little, "You live with Mr Hewley?"  
  
"Yeah." Zack held the blouse up again, making sure he scrubbed it enough, "He's practically been raising me since I was about twelve." he shrugged and held the shirt under cold running water.  
  
Tilting his head down so he was resting on his arms, Cloud felt his curiosity creep up, "Did he adopt you or something?" he asked softly, before his brain could tell him not to.   
  
"Not exactly." To his relief Zack didn't seem bothered by the question, "I was in a military youth program and Angeal was my mentor." he answered casually, "For now I still live with him."  
  
Cloud stood up straight, "He was in the military?" that was something he hadn't expected, "You were both in the military?!"  
  
The older boy began laughing, shaking his head, "Not _the_ military, a military _program_." he corrected the younger teenager, "It was actually started and funded by Rufus' father." turning off the tap he wrung the shirt out before moving to the washing machine and throwing it in, "That's why we're tots besties." he added with a roll of his eyes.  
  
The blond frowned a little, "I see..." he wasn't sure what to say now, since he felt that he probably shouldn't have asked in the first place. Considering how badly Zack had reacted to Rufus' taunting made him think it was probably a bad subject to be on. But somehow, even after thinking that, another question just fell out of his mouth, "Why'd you guys leave?"  
  
"It shut down." The answer was quick and the other made no attempts to elaborate.  
  
"I-I see." Cloud frowned, feeling like he was definitely prying into something that wasn't his business, "S-sorry for being so nosy." he mumbled, turning his head to look at his hands on the counter, "I always ask too many questions." he focused on his fingers as he spoke, "F-feel free to just tell me to shut up."  
  
"Why're you apologising?" Hearing Zack move closer to him, the blond's shoulders stiffened, "If I didn't want to talk about stuff, I'd say so." the older boy chuckled, his hand reaching up to ruffled the blond spikes, "But I'd never tell you to shut up."  
  
Cloud felt his heart hammer in his chest, as a tingling sensation spread across the top of his head. Another blush bloomed on his cheeks, going all the way to his ears. Unable to do much else, the blond kept his eyes on his hands, hoping that his reaction would go unnoticed by the other.  
  
Luckily, Zack didn't seem to be paying attention, "There's not much time left before lunch." he said, looking at the clock on the wall. He pulled his hand away from the other teenager and rubbed the back of his neck as he thought for a moment.  
  
Cloud took a step back from the counter, keeping his eyes down. He frowned a little, having almost forgotten about missing gym and that Mr Hewley was probably angry with him. Plus he'd now wasted Zack's time as well.  
  
"I'm gonna go to talk to Angeal before the class is over." he said suddenly, heading to the door and waved a hand for the smaller teenager to follow.  
  
Cloud did so, looking up at him curiously, "Will he be mad?" he asked meekly, expecting the worst.  
  
"Dunno." Zack moved over to a counter that had a large amount of mugs were gathered, "You wait here, okay." he said and handed a cup to him, before walking away from him, "Help yourself to a drink." he paused at the door and grinned, "Be back soon."  
  
The exchange happened so quickly that the blond was left staring after the older boy, not really sure what to do now. The room was completely silent, except for the movements of the Principal's secretary on the far side of the lounge.  
  
Cloud clutched the mug tightly and frowned. Was it really alright for him to be in here? Considering the school rules this could be seen as stepping over a line. Not to mention he could be hated by members of the fan clubs if they knew he'd been in here unsupervised.   
  
Glancing down at his hands, Cloud looked at the cup he'd been giving. His eyes widened and he covered his mouth before a small laugh escaped. The design was obviously custom made, since it wasn't what you usually see in shops.  
  
_"Zero attention span. Restless as a little puppy."_ It would seem that a lot of people saw the similarities between Zack and the baby animal, since there were a bunch of signatures laminated on the spaces around the message.  
  
Turning the mug, Cloud realised that the names belonged to the teachers. _"Maybe it was a birthday gift..."_ he thought, smiling a little. Looking up from the writing, the blond saw the coffee-maker close by.  
  
Deciding to do what Zack suggested, he went to make a drink, which took a little longer than he expected. After a few failed attempts to turn the thing on, he realised that the settings had not been programmed in properly. Having dealt with this model before, the blond was able to rectify the problem easily without a manual.  
  
Now with a hot chocolate, Cloud stood quietly at the counter. He took this opportunity to actually look around the room. The last time he came in here on his first day, he didn't have time to take in any details.  
  
He noticed that this room had a sink of its own next to the refrigerator, several cups and plates unwashed inside. Feeling a little nosy, the blond opened the fridge and took a look inside. There wasn't much other than some drinks and packed lunches inside.  
  
Closing the door, Cloud noticed a bulletin board with various notices and memos. Pretty much what you'd expect to see in the office area. Looking back to the room he saw that each teacher had a fairly large desk to themselves, which were partially blocked off to make them more secluded.   
  
The blond's brow furrowed when he spotted several things that stood out on some of the desks. Even from this distance he could tell that they were not school related. Setting his beverage down, Cloud walked around the tables to get a closer look. He rolled his eyes when he saw that the several items littered on the desks, were in fact, _gifts_. No doubt from the fan clubs. If it wasn't so weird, he would have almost been impressed with their dedication.  
  
Catching a glimpse of purple in the corner of his eye, the blond noticed a desk with a pyramid of apples on the side. In the back of his mind he remembered the name Banora White. He found it odd and a little interesting that among the standard love tokens were a pile of fairly expensive fruit.  
  
_"Maybe they likes apples..."_ Cloud thought to himself.   
  
As he was about to turn away, the bell rang, signalling the start of lunch hour. Startled, the blond accidentally kicked the chair, causing it to bump into the desk. The teenager's eyes widened as he saw the once neatly placed fruit tumbling around the wooden surface, some falling onto the floor with soft thumps.  
  
"No, no! Shit!" He cursed under his breath and attempted to catch a few, before picking the rest up. For the next few minutes he attempted to put them back in their place, but was unable to replicate the pyramid, "C'mon, you dumb apples!" he grumbled, still hastily trying to pile them up.  
  
"Well, what do we have here?" Hearing the amused voice, Cloud froze instantly. When he finally glanced to his right, all the colour drained from his face. Not one, not two, but three teachers stood near the entrance.  
  
_"Fuck..."_  
  
"Is there a reason you are at my desk?" Sephiroth asked, his expression looking like it always did, but with a slight glint of bemusement in his eyes. Behind him, the English teacher was holding a book to his face as he sniggered uncontrollably.  
  
Now realising that not only was he just caught messing with a teacher's desk, it belonged to the ever intimidating Mr Cresent.  
  
_"Double fuck!"_  
  
The third teacher was Mr Valentine, moved past the other two, "Miss Strife." he began calmly as he reached his own desk, "Care to explain why are you here?"  
  
The question seemed to snap Cloud out of his shocked state and he quickly pushed the apples safely onto the desk and moved away, "U-um, I— there was this— a-and I just—But I'm n-not..." As he babbled on he gave up trying to say anything that didn't sound stupid and just apologised, "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to—"  
  
"Quite." Sephiroth raised a hand to silence the blond, before walking to his desk and making the teenager scurry away, "Who gave you permission to be in here?" he asked a more direct question as he began to neaten the mess.  
  
Cloud looked a little worried and put his head down, "Um, Zack did..." he answered, his hands now clenching at the hem of his gym shirt.  
  
At the mention of the older teenager, the three men seem to easily accept the explanation and proceeded to then ignore the blond completely. Feeling himself begin to relax a little, he moved back to where he was before, retrieving the hot beverage he left on the side.  
  
After an agonizingly, awkward few minutes of silence, Cloud looked at the door to the back room. Maybe he should try and escape into there and wait until Zack got back? He would definitely feel less anxious hiding away, instead of just standing—  
  
"What do you have there, Strife?"   
  
The blond glanced back over to the desks and saw Mr Rhapsodos looking at him, "Uh, Zack said I could use it..." he answered, holding the cup closer to his chest.  
  
The English teacher rolled his eyes, "I figured as much." he sighed, "I was referring to what you're drinking."  
  
Cloud frowned a little, "Um, hot chocolate."  
  
He saw a mix of confusion and suspicion cross the man's face, "Where did you get it...?" Not really sure what to say, the blond simply pointed to the coffee machine beside him. At that the teacher stood up, now looking mildly shocked, "You know how to work that thing?!"  
  
Cloud's eyes shifted around the room, as the other two teacher's suddenly seemed interested in the topic as well, "Um... y-yes?"  
  
*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*  
  
"You're not gonna lecture her are you?" Zack asked his mentor, his lips pursing slightly. He'd explained everything to him, but he knew the older man could never resist giving a good speech.  
  
"Why so concerned?" Angeal asked, finding this all quite entertaining.  
  
"No special reason." Zack mumbled, putting his hands in his pocket, "Just don't, okay?"  
  
The dark haired man chuckled and shook his head, "Don't worry. She's safe." he grinned at his assistant, "For now at least." he added as he entered the teacher's lounge.  
  
"Angeal!" Genesis smiled widely and waved at his friend from his desk, "Look! We have coffee!" he announced, holding up his red mug.  
  
The gym teacher paused at the door, Zack peeking his head over his shoulder. Looking around the room, he saw that all of his co-workers had hot beverages to go with their lunches, "...where from?"  
  
Leaning back in his chair, Genesis gestured to the blond student standing over the sink, "Cloud knows how to work the machine." he smiled brightly, "Can we keep her?"  
  
Hearing that he was being talked about Cloud fumbled with the mug he'd been washing and almost dropped it. He nervously glanced over his shoulder and cringed. While he distracted himself briefly with making drinks, he couldn't deny that he'd been dreading this moment.  
  
Angeal rose an eyebrow, his mouth lifting on one side in a half smile, "Unfortunately we can't." he finally said and walked further into the room, "We don't have the space and it took forever to house train that one." he pointed behind him at his assistant.  
  
Genesis scoffed and waved a hand, "We can just trade them."  
  
"Oh haha, you're so funny." Zack said sarcastically as he approached the other teenager, "Hey..." he smiled and rested his chin in his hand as he leant on the counter, "You okay?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah." Cloud nodded, smiling as he focused on what he was doing.  
  
Zack watched him for a moment, before speaking again, "You know, I thought that thing was broken. So when I said drink, I was meaning some juice we had in the fridge." he explained, looking amused. Tilting his head down further, he tried to catch the other's gaze, "You really know how to use the coffee-maker?" he asked, grinning when they finally made eye contact.  
  
Feeling a giggle bubble out of him, Cloud bit down on his lower lip, "I do." he admitted, putting the mug on the side when he was done rinsing it, "I um, used to have a job back home... there was the same machine in the staff room." he added after a brief pause.  
  
It was difficult to hold back another laugh, when he saw the other's expression. Zack had an, honest to Gaia, puppy like look on his face, "Can you show me?" he asked with a bright smile. Putting his hands together and titling his head, he added, "Please?"  
  
Honestly, who could say no to that face?   
  
Cloud opened his mouth to answer but was cut off, "She can't." Angeal called over, giving his assistant a smirk, as he approached them, "She needs to go get her lunch."  
  
"Aw, c'mon Angeal!" Zack whined and pursed his lips in annoyance, "There's food here... and everyone else got a drink." he said sourly.  
  
The older man sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Stop making that face. You're not a toddler." When his comment was met with the other sticking his tongue out and blowing a raspberry, he decided to just remove the distraction, "The girls were worried about you, Cloud. They asked me to tell you that, they will wait for you in the cafeteria." he began, gently leading the blond to the door, "You can come back for your uniform after lunch."  
  
Cloud tried not to laugh when he heard Zack blow another raspberry at his mentor, "O-oh..." he stopped at the door, "Um, about missing the lesson..." he knew that it had been explained to the teacher, but he was sure that he should still get a scolding at least.  
  
"We'll talk after lunch. Now get going." Angeal said firmly, but with a smile.  
  
"Okay..." the blond nodded again and quickly left the lounge. Now in the hallway, he saw that there were a few other students passing by. Not liking the weird looks he readjusted the strap on his bag and put his head down as he headed towards the canteen.   
  
He hoped they were just noticing that he was wearing his gym clothes and not that he'd been where students weren't supposed to be. Last thing he wanted now was to get cornered by some crazy jealous fan club members. Part of him wondered how they'd react if they knew he made them drinks.  
  
"Found you!" Cloud felt someone grab his bag, pulling him to a stop. Looking back a frustrated groan escaped him, "You're not easy to find." Rufus smiled, giving the strap a tug.  
  
The blond shook the other's hand off and scowled, "What do you want?"  
  
"Now that I am your boss, I thought I should introduce you to other's that have the pleasure of working for me." Rufus stepped aside and gestured to the two people standing behind him.  
  
"For crying out loud!" Cloud sighed in exasperation, "You're not my—" he stopped midsentence when he actually saw the other people, "You two...?" he blinked several times, not quite believing his eyes.  
  
"Hey Cloudy." Reno grinned as he walked over, throwing a friendly arm over the blond's shoulders, "Look's like you'll be working with us!"  
  
Elena looked equally happy about this, "Welcome to the team."  
  
"Well, I'm off to speak with my brother." Rufus said as he looked at his watch, "With any luck he will enrol me by the end of the day." after straightening his coat, he gave a wave to the three and walked off.  
  
Reno called after him, "Good luck boss."  
  
"You guys actually _work_ for him?" Cloud asked, feeling like he'd slipped into another dimension where nothing makes any sense.  
  
"Weeell..." the red haired teenager paused for a moment, "It's more like, we just do things he asks, like favours, and we get rewarded later."  
  
Cloud felt his eyes almost cross at how bizarre that sounded, "That's really... how does that even work?"  
  
"Let me put it a different way." Reno smirked, "When Rufus overthrows his old man and takes control of all the businesses he owns, guess who will get their dream jobs after leaving school?"   
  
Elena smiled brightly, while pointing to herself and Reno as if trying to give the blond a clue, "Us!" she finally said when there was no reaction, "—And now you too!"  
  
Cloud looked back and forth between the pair. Sadly it didn't look like they were kidding in the slightest, "Right..." he slowly peeled the redhead's arm off his shoulder, "Good bye." he said simply and began walking away, choosing to ignore this rather odd development.  
  
Sadly that was easier said than done...  
  
Nearly half an hour later, Cloud was dragging himself back towards the teacher's lounge to get his uniform. He had completely underestimated just how persistent and annoying Elena and Reno could be about this whole working for Rufus thing.  
  
When they weren't trying to get his phone number or address for contacting purposes, they would just not shut up in general. Together they managed to make, what could have been a nice lunch, painfully difficult to sit through.  
  
To make things more awkward, Cloud wasn't really sure how to explain things to Aerith and Tifa. It wasn't exactly an everyday occurrence. To his further annoyance, Reno had attempted to _help_ by simply blurting out the door incident, which just made them worry.  
  
He'd never felt so tired. Only half way through the day, with over three hours left until he could go home...  
  
Giving a soft few knocks to the door, Cloud sighed and waited quietly. When the door opened, it was Mr Valentine, who looked like he was on his way out, "Cutting it a little close aren't you?" he quirked an eyebrow, moving a side to let him in.  
  
"I know..." the blond nodded and entered. Most of the teachers were already gone, but a few were still inside.  
  
"Ah, Cloud." He spotted Zack leaning back on one of the desks, holding a magazine, "I was starting to think I'd have to come find you again."  
  
Cloud cast his gaze down at his shoes, finding it hard to take that smile straight on, "S-sorry." he approached him slowly, "Um, is my shirt ready?" he saw the older boy reached over and grab one of his braids, making automatically look up.  
  
"Yeah." Zack grinned playfully and began swinging the braid around like a jumping rope. After a moment, he gently flicked the end against the blond's nose, "It's in the back room. You can get changed in there." he said, tilting his head in that direction.  
  
Unable to stop it, Cloud's lips twitch up into a slight grin of his own. He couldn't understand why, but the taller teenager had an infectious personality. Everything just seemed to automatically brighten when he was around.  
  
"Okay." with a nod, he walked past him and retreated into the back room. Once the door was closed, he took a moment to remember how to breath properly. He couldn't understand why he always felt so giddy around Zack. Perhaps it was simply a mix of admiration for the older boy and his own lack of confidence. Either way, it was becoming a little frustrating.  
  
After changing back into his uniform, he was happy to see that there were no lasting stains from the blood. Once finished, he exited the room, to see that Angeal was now at his desk, talking with Zack.  
  
When he saw Cloud, the teacher shooed his assistant away and beckoned him over, "Right, since we don't have much time, let's just get straight to the point." he began, taking a seat, "While your absence wasn't intentional, there are still reproductions for skipping class."  
  
The blond nodded and frowned deeply. He knew it was too farfetched to think that he'd get away without being punished.   
  
"So I believe it's only fair that you stay behind for two hours after school today and make up the lesson you missed."  
  
It took a minute for the words to register in his brain, before he slowly looked up, "...what?" he questioned softly, not sure that he heard right.  
  
Angeal leant back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest, "Would you rather detention?" he asked, a smirk forming on his lips, "Because we could sit in a classroom for two hours writing an essay instead?"  
  
"Ah— No, no!" Cloud shook his head, "Th-that's fine."  
  
"Oh good. Also, while I have you here..." the teacher turned to his desk and picked up a piece of paper, "If you are still interested in extra classes, you are welcome to them. How does after school on Tuesdays and Fridays sound?"  
  
"...What?!" he stared at the older man in disbelief.   
  
"Are those days no good?" the blond looked to the side, to see Zack leaning against the table again. The older teenager tilted his head to the side, "Or do you not want the lessons anymore?" he asked, his brow frowning with concern.  
  
Feeling butterflies flutter about in his stomach, Cloud was a little loss for words. Not only was that puppy face distracting, part of him was sure that this was a dream and he'd wake up any second.  
  
"Alright, you. Times up!" Genesis interrupted the conversation as he stood up from his desk, "My class starts in three minutes and if you are not there before me Cloud, I will make you read in front of—"  
  
Cloud's eyes widened in horror, "No, no!" Whenever Mr Rhapsodos made someone read aloud he would insist they put more passion or emphasise while speaking. It was embarrassing and not something he, or any of his classmates liked doing, "I'm going! I'm going!" he said quickly and moved to the door, "Oh! Th-those days are fine." he added over his shoulder to the gym teacher and his assistant.  
  
"Great." Zack's grin finally returned, "See ya later today." he waved at the younger teenager.  
  
"Yeah..." The blond paused in the doorway, momentarily frozen to the spot, "S-see you." he stared back at the older boy, not entirely sure why. Feeling the English teacher swat his shoulder with a book suddenly, he let out a squeak.  
  
"Move it." Genesis insisted, ushering the teenager out. Seeing him break into a sprint he rolled his eyes, "No running." he snapped slightly as he followed him into the halls.  
  
Doing as he was told Cloud's pace changed to a fast walk, so he was far enough ahead of the teacher to arrive first. It was only after a few second that he finally felt excitement bubble up inside him. Instead of getting serious punishment for earlier, he pretty much got the opposite. The extra self defence training is what he'd consider a reward, not that he'd done anything to really deserve it.  
  
The good news had lifted his spirits a little, especially after such a strange day.


	8. Bitter Sweet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cloud begins to feel some unpleasant feelings begin to catch up with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this took a little longer than I had planned. I'll be moving in a few days and I have been busy with packing, which isn't going too well either. XD 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Let me know what you think. ^w^

"Please sleep... just sleep..." Cloud muttered, curling himself up into a ball and pressing his face more into the plush pillow. Despite his own exhaustion and best effort, he was unable to quell his anxiety since going to bed nearly two hours ago. He took in some deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heart and relax his body, he was desperate for sleep by this point.   
  
Hearing a sudden noise, he immediately sat up, his breath hitching as he switched on the lamp beside his bed. After a quiet moment of staring around the empty room, the origin of the noise was discovered. A shaky sigh escaped him when he recognised the sound of water pipes, "Just next door... idiot!" he told himself, running a hand through his hair. This was getting ridiculous. No matter how much logic his mind tried to apply to the situation, something inside him was making him afraid for nothing.  
  
Sleeping had always been difficult for him, but recently it was getting out of hand. He knew he was safe here and far away from his uncle. So why did he feel this way? Why did he feel that there was something dangerous watching him in the dark? "There's nothing there." he spoke quietly to himself, glaring around the bedroom.   
  
After a brief pause he turned the lamp off, only to immediately turn it back on again when his heart began beating rapidly once more. "Fuck!" letting out a frustrated yell, Cloud fell back onto his pillows. He wanted to cry, but the tears never came. His eyes were so dry, he wondered if his tear ducts shrivelled up to nothing as he repeatedly failed to sleep properly.   
  
In the end he gave up and just left the light on, hoping that at least might let him rest a little...  
  
When the loud alarm went off the next morning, Cloud made no move to turn it off, his sore, puffy eyes staring up at the white ceiling above him. Whether he managed to rest or not, he couldn't tell. He was still so tired, but knew that there was no way he'd be able to fall asleep, even if he were to skip school and stay in bed. Maybe there was some omnipotent being controlling the universe that just enjoyed watching him suffer and cursed him with insomnia and nightmares. However silly that sounded, it made him feel better to blame something at least.  
  
"I hate my life." the blond snarled through gritted teeth, finally swinging his arm over to shut that annoying beeping sound off. Slowly, very slowly, he peeled himself out of the warm quilt and begin his daily routine. With a little breakfast and a some much needed caffeine, his fatigue faded a little by the time he left his apartment and headed to school.   
  
A groan escaped him when he felt the cool breeze rush passed him, his teeth chattering as he wrapped his coat tighter around his body. Although he had been born and raised in Nibelheim, he hated the cold. With winter approaching, he was going to despise walking to school more and more.  
  
It wasn't long before he reached the large building, along with several other students. It felt like every other day so far. Cloud was already tired and wishing he didn't have to be there... then again, most teenagers felt like that about school. As he neared his home room however, he couldn't help but take notice of a few stares.  
  
_"Of course..."_ he thought with a sigh, now picking up on the hushed whispers. Honestly he was a little surprised that it had taken this long for other students to take a disliking to him, or maybe he hadn't noticed it at first. Either way, he simply carried on and ignored the looks. He learned long ago to not let things like this get to him, or at least try to.  
  
"Cloud!" a cheery voice broke through his thoughts, making the blond look up. Seeing Aerith sat at her desk and waving at him with her bright smile, made that building tension in his shoulders drop, "Good morning." she greeted him when he got closer and took his seat.  
  
"Morning..." Cloud nodded to her, giving her a small smile, "Is Tifa late?" he asked, noticing the absence of the taller brunette.  
  
"She missed her usual bus this morning." Aerith giggled, showing the blond the angry text that her friend had sent that morning.   
  
Seeing that the message was mainly curse words, made Cloud laugh a little too. When Tifa got mad over small things, she tended to be a little over the top to try and make the situation more humorous. He relaxed further when Aerith began showing him some pictures of a new shelving unit that was recently added to her family's flower shop, happy to listen to her chatter on about it without interruption. She always seemed to smile brightest when she talked about things she loved.  
  
"Hey. Hey!" a girl, sat a few desks away called over to them, "Hey, Cloud." she addressed him specifically. Looking up he frowned, not particularly familiar with her and not wanting to be. She was part of a rather shallow social group of social climbers in their class. What was her name? Chai? Chey?  
  
"What?" he finally replied.  
  
"Are you a lesbian?" she asked, the few friends she had around her laughing a little, "Or are you like, experimenting, because you're from the country?" The questions came right out of nowhere and surprised Cloud to say the least. What exactly had he done to make her ask that and what business was it of anyone's?   
  
The blond stared at her, having no idea how to even react to such a question, "No..." he shook his head, "I'm not."  
  
"Oh..." what's her name nodded, turning back to her friends to have a giggle over putting him on the spot. Even though it was a flimsy attempt at embarrassing him, it still created an awkward atmosphere.  
  
Cloud wanted to say something to her, but noticing how Aerith's smile faded a little, he kept his mouth shut. She hated seeing people argue. He almost sighed in relief when Tifa entered the class room, looking a little out of breath. She probably ran all the way here to make up for lost time, "H-hey!" she gave a rather tired smile and a wave, "Sorry I—"  
  
"Tifa!" that annoying ,stuck up voice called over the room again, "I asked her and she said no." the girl from before had a smirk on her face, her friends still giggling like morons.  
  
"What are you talking about, Chayan?" the tall brunette gave her a look, the two of them obviously not on friendly terms.  
  
The girl twirled her curly black hair around her finger, "I asked Cloud if she was a lesbian. She said no." she stated bluntly, other students in the class room now laughing when they heard it, "I guess you and Aerith won't get your threesome."  
  
Cloud's cheeks burned a little at that, but he felt more anger than embarrassment at that moment. That was such a cheap shot at them and of course her group of likeminded idiots all thought it was hilarious.   
  
Tifa was obviously pissed about it too, but she just rolled her eyes and sat at her desk, "Ohhh, well damn..." she shook her head and snapped her fingers, "Can't get everything we want." she added sarcastically as she sat down. Turning in her seat she grinned at Aerith, "Look at me. Not smashing her face into her desk. I have matured so much." she said in a peppy tone, making the other brunette smile a little in return.  
  
"Doesn't mean we can't imagine it..." Cloud added with a low growl, glaring down at his hands. He wanted to say something. Anything to wipe those smug looks off their faces. But even though he was full of anger at their petty little jabs, he couldn't muster up the courage to tell them where to stick it. He's never back talked to bullies before, not since the first time he got a smack to the face when he retaliated.  
  
Feeling someone poke his cheek he looked up to see Tifa smiling, "They're not worth getting suspended for." she shrugged her shoulders.   
  
At that moment, Reno decided to invade their conversation and scooted closer to them with his chair, "Exactly! Besides, I have a theory that Chay is the queen of the hive mind." he grinned at them, waving his hands around for spooky emphasis, "If you kill her off, the rest will swarm us."  
  
Cloud bit his lip as a small snort escaped through his nose. The other boy could be annoying and a busy body, but sometimes his jokes hit the mark, however ridiculous they were. Noticing that Aerith got a little giggle out of it too, made the blond feel somewhat relieved.  
   
"For once you have a point Reno." Tifa grinned at the redhead, arms resting on the back of  her chair, "I sure don't wanna get eaten alive by her mindless drones. Right?" she directed her amused grin at Cloud.  
  
Pursing his lips, the blond reluctantly nodded, "Right..." he smiled back at her. Although he still wouldn't mind seeing that girl, Chayan, get some form of comeuppance for her rude and childish remarks.  
  
Reno seemed to notice the look and his own grin widened, "Hey Cloud, you could always hit her with a door, yo."   
  
Another snort came from the blond teenager, before he could stop it, "Sh-shut up!" he tried to glare, but could not fully mask his amusement, "Go back to your desk." he huffed and looked away. Luckily before Reno could retort, Mr Valentine entered the class room, signalling the start of home room.  
  
Cloud breathed a sigh of relief, his earlier frustrations pushed back down, for now at least. If there was one thing he could be happy about, it was that it was Tuesday and that meant he had his extra lessons today after school. It would be his fourth since they started two weeks ago and he was already looking forward to it. The only thing that would make it better is if it was after lunch already so the day was almost over.  
  
By the time third period started, it already felt like an eternity had passed, as if time itself was slowing down just to torment him. Having sat still for too long, the fatigue he had earlier that morning returned with a vengeances, just like he thought it would. But there wasn't anything he could do about it, he would just have to hold out until lunch break...  
  
"...oud...? ...Cloud!"  
  
"Mn...?" blue eyes slowly, blinking a few times before his vision cleared, "...What?!" the blond quickly sat up when he realised that he was laying his head down on his desk. He noticed Aerith frowning and Tifa giving him a look of sympathy. Why was the room so quiet—  
  
"It's nice of your to rejoin the class, _Cloud_."  
  
A cold shiver shot straight up the teenager's spine, when he heard the deep voice, _"Shit!"_ he visibly gulped, before slowly turning his head and meeting the narrowed eyes of the Math teacher. Sephiroth was standing beside his desk, arms crossed and giving him a stern glare. _"No way!"_ He had actually fallen asleep! In Mr Crescent's class! "I-I'm sorr—" he began to stutter.  
  
The silver haired man waved his hand to silence him, "Since you seem so refreshed by your nap, perhaps you will do the honours of answering the problems on the board." he then motioned to the front of the class.  
  
Cloud's faced paled a little at the sudden suggestion. Sephiroth never made students write on the board as a punishment. He always preferred to make them do that weird squat thing with a large book, _"He must really be pissed..."_ Cloud grimaced at the thought.  
  
"Well, Miss Strife." The teacher's eyes turned a little icy, "I'm waiting."  
  
Putting his head down the blond got up out of his seat and walked to the front of the class, cringing at he felt the taller man close behind him. His stomach churned as he tried to ignore the stares of his classmates, while he solved the questions on the board. They weren't too difficult, thankfully, but it did take him a few minutes to remember the formula and solve them.   
  
When it was finally over, he returned to his seat, his hands shaking a little, _"Fuck..."_ he sighed heavily, rubbing his forehead with his fingers, feeling a headache coming on.   
  
*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*  
  
Lunch had come and gone, but he didn't feel any better as he and the other's made their way back to class. Cloud had actually felt so sick that he barely ate his food, not wanting to encourage the yucky feeling in his gut. His decreasing mood only adding to his annoyance. He wasn't sure when it started, but he found himself becoming agitated by the smallest things, causing him to grind his teeth in frustration.    
  
While the blond had no idea what was wrong, he tried to keep his temper in check whenever his friends asked if he was alright, not wanting to snap at them for no reason. But even that was becoming difficult, especially with the dirty looks he was still getting from other students.   
  
"Ow!" Cloud yelped suddenly, having felt the sharp tug on one of his braids. Glancing over his shoulder, he caught sight of some girls walking the opposite way to him. They were giggling to each other and sneering at him as they tossed his blue hair ribbon back at him. "Seriously...?" he groaned at how childish that was, as he walked over to pick up the fallen hair accessory.  
  
"Cloud?" looking back a head of him he saw Aerith waiting for him, a frown on her face, "Are you okay?" she asked, leaving him to wonder if she saw what happened.  
  
"Yeah." he shrugged his shoulders casually, quickly putting the little bow back on the end of his braid before it came loose, "I'm fine." he smiled slightly at the brunette, silently hoping that she just accepts it without question. For once, luck was on his side as she nodded in agreement. She did however take his arm so he was close beside her as they walked to the classroom.  
  
He was grateful that the last few hours passed without incident and he was finally able to go to his private lessons. If he could just get away from a certain redhead...  
  
"Okay Cloud." Reno lent on the blond's desk as he packed his things away, grinning brightly, "Rufus sent me a text. He wants us to have a staff meeting about his—"  
  
"Not interested." Cloud promptly refused, swinging his bag over his shoulder. After enrolling two weeks ago, Rufus had of course been hanging around him at lunch sometimes, that being the only time he could be around, since he was in the senior class.   
  
Once the swelling in his face had gone down, it was actually easy to see the resemblance between him and the Principal, both blonds obviously taking after the parent they shared. But their mannerisms and treatment of people couldn't be more different. While Lazard had a humble and soft approach, his younger brother was a complete snob who verbally demanded cooperation from others, based solely on the preconception that he deserved nothing less.   
  
Because he considered Cloud to be _working_ for him in a sense, he would simply expect him to do as he was told. Refusing the older blond's requests brought its own satisfaction and to see that smug look turn into a scowl was the only good thing about spending any time with the jerk.  
  
"C'mon Cloud..." Reno whined, leaning on the other student when he tried to walk past him, "It'll be fun! There's always snacks." he grinned, trying to tempt him.  
  
"Sounds good, just one problem." Cloud shrugged off the taller boy, "Rufus will be there and I doubt there's enough tequila in the world to make him tolerable."  
  
At that the redhead's lit up in amusement, "Oh, ouch!" he laughed, stepping back to lean on his desk, "That's pretty harsh, yo." he sniggered, shaking his head, "Alright, I'll tell him you were busy or something."   
  
Cloud let out a frustrated sigh and rolled his eyes, the conversation not helping his thumping headache. "I _am_ busy!" he said firmly, a glare forming on his face, "See you guys..." he added in a gentler tone to the girls as he stomped out of the room. Honestly, he was beginning to wondered if he should just let Rufus smack him in the face with a door and call it even. That would at least be better than dealing with all this crap.  
  
Slowing his pace down a little, Cloud took a few deep breaths and tried to push his annoyance aside. He wanted to be able to focus in his self-defence class and being frustrated was going to distract him. Not to mention this damned headache. _"Maybe I should get some painkillers..."_ he thought, making a mental note to go to the convenience store later, rubbing his forehead with his fingers.  
  
"Hey miss bicycle!" he hearing the amused voices, the blond looked up to see a group of seniors heading in the opposite direction he was.  
  
Cloud tried to suppress a cringe, easily recognising some of them. After being catcalled that day he went to the mall with Aerith and Tifa, it was hard _not_ to notice them. Luckily his friends had been right when they said the boys behaved better at school because of the teachers.   
  
But right now there weren't any around... _"Shit!"_  
  
"Where you goin' so fast?" the tallest guy broke from his group and moved into the blond's path, "You're looking pretty good today, ya know." he stepped closer whenever the smaller teenager retreated back, smirking when he'd successfully cornered him against a wall, "How bout' a ride?"   
  
Cloud felt his throat close up and his body temperature rise, "L-l—" he stumbled over his words and tensed when a hand reached up and stroke his cheek, "Leave me alone!" he managed to say, attempting to squeezes past him.   
  
"Lighten up, will ya." the guy continued to grin and blocked the way again, his arm slipping around the blond's small waist, "Why don't you come have a some fun with us, huh?" he chuckled, easily pulling the younger teenager closer to him, "Ya know, you'd be cuter if you smiled more."  
  
For some reasons those last words struck a chord with the blond, causing an nasty memory to shoot up from the back of his mind... _'You just get cuter every time I see you.'_   
  
A wave of nausea suddenly hit the young teenager right in the gut, his ears burning unpleasantly, still able to hear the words and that voice. Just remembering that disgusting murderer that worked with his abusive uncle, caused Cloud's heart rate skyrocket.   
  
His breath came out in short gasps as the small organ hammering wildly in his ribcage, "G-get off!" he yelled, giving the taller teenager a hard shove backwards, finally able to escape when there was a few feet between them. Hearing some foul language being hurled at him, he broke into a sprint, not looking back as he darted through the halls.  
  
When he finally reached the corridor that lead to the gym he slowed down and stole a glance behind him. Seeing that no one was following he let a shaky sigh escape him, stumbling towards a wall and leaning against it for support. Pressing his forehead to the cold surface, he took in some heavy breaths and waited for the world to stop spinning around him.  
  
As he stood there in silence, a huge flash of anger suddenly sparked inside him. How the hell could he allow that to happen to him? That guy had cornered him way too easily. After dealing with Roland all those times, he should know better by now! Was he really so weak and pathetic that he was unable to defend himself against anyone? Was he just going to be helpless and terrified for the rest of his life?  
  
"F-fuck!" Cloud let out a broken sob, slamming his right fist against the hard wall in front of him repeatedly. Numerous emotions that he'd been concealing the whole day, perhaps even for the last few weeks, seemed to rise to the surface all at once. As the last of his barriers  crumbled around him, hot tears filled his already sore eyes, his head now feeling like it was splitting in two.   
  
It was all so unfair! He wasn't a bad person and he never went out of his way to hurt other people. Yet trouble was never far behind him. It was always waiting around the corner for him, when he least expected it.  
  
He was so tired...  
  
Feeling someone suddenly grip his shoulder, the blond automatically swung around, his tightly fisted hand aiming to hit whoever it was, "Don't fucking touch me!"  
  
When his arm was easily caught before it made contact, his watery eyes fell on a familiar face, "Cloud?" Zack's brow was knitted with worry, looking both concerned and startled by the sudden attack.  
  
Cloud stared at the older boy for a few seconds, a small wave of relief wash over him. His body began to trembled when the adrenalin left him, his legs giving out a little, "Whoa, whoa..." the taller teenager quickly grabbed his arms and kept him steady, as he sank to the floor.   
  
The blond continued to stare at him, feeling himself become a little numb as the energy left behind by his outburst disappear as quickly as they came, "What happened?" his mind focused a little when he heard the question, his gaze connecting with Zack's eyes directly, "Did someone hurt you?" the older boy asked, his hands still gently holding the blond's forearms.  
  
Feeling himself come back to reality, Cloud immediately straightened his posture, leaning back against the wall, "No! I-I'm fine." he said quickly, pulling his hands up to his face and attempting to wipe some of the tears away, "Shit..." he whispered when he saw the remains of his eye make-up on his fingers.  
  
"You're not fine." Zack's firm words made him freeze. The older boy's usual happy tone was not there and he sounded so solemn.  
  
Of course he wasn't fine, that was obvious! But what was he supposed to say? There was no point in listing off the shitty details of his day and the horrible night's sleep that preceded it. He certainly didn't want to bring up that jerk that invaded his personal space and triggered his anxiety. No. It was just easier to ignore it and not trouble other people with his crappy life.  
  
"I-I'm okay, really..." Cloud lied again, a little sniffle escaped him, despite his best effort to conceal it, "Please don't worry about it." he didn't want to bring anyone down, especially not Zack. Seeing a sad look on his face was like looking at a puppy that had just been kicked.  
  
"Cloud..." The other began, a deep frown still on his face, "Don't keep it to yourself. If you rather talk to Angeal that's fine... or another teacher." he rubbed the back of his neck, "We're here to help you, so you don't have to deal with it by yourself. Whatever it is..."  
  
The blond's eyes shut tightly, when he felt his eyes burn again with more tears. Zack was too kind and the way he spoke made it hard not to just blurt everything out. "N-no. I... I just have a headache... a-and I haven't been sleeping well..." he managed to say weakly, deciding that part of the truth will suffice for this occasion, "That's all it is. Really."  
  
"Your head?" Zack moved a little closer, reaching out to touch the other teenager, his hand stopping half way, "Um, is this okay?" he asked, sounding a little sheepish.  
  
Cloud's brow furrowed at the odd question, "Is what okay?" he glanced at the other's hand, wondering why it wasn't already on his hair. Over the last two weeks, he was slowly becoming used to Zack's habit of showering him with impulsive, yet friendly touches and it was odd to watch him hesitate.  
  
"You said not to touch you, before..." the dark haired teenager pulled his hand away, rubbing the back of his neck, "I didn't wanna upset you again." he admitted, looking rather uneasy.  
  
The blond mouth dropped open a little, his heart skipping a beat, "N-no! I didn't—" he shook his head frantically, "That wasn't directed at you! I m-mean... I don't know why I said that." he felt his cheeks flush, not really sure how to explain that blunder, "It-it's okay..." he finished, nervously chewing his lip, unable to look up at him again.  
  
After a brief moment of silence, Cloud had to suppress a sigh when he felt those fingers thread through his spiky hair. He couldn't deny that the sensation definitely relieved some of the throbbing pain in his head,  "Where does it hurt?" Zack asked, watching the other's face closely.   
  
Cloud forced his eyes to open again, not realising he'd closed them, "Uh, all over. Kinda..." he mumbled, bringing his own hand up to sweep over his spikes. Their fingers briefly brushed past each other as he indicated where the ache had spread, "On the top and my forehead."  
  
The older boy nodded, "Have you had any water today?" he asked, massaging the younger teenager's scalp gently.  
  
Desperately trying to keep focused, Cloud shook his head a little, "N-no..." he admitted, remember that he only had some tea this morning with breakfast and a soda at lunch. Feeling that hand leave his head, his lips purse into a pout, missing the soothing relief it brought.   
  
"That might be the problem and lack of sleep doesn't help either..." Zack smiled a little, reaching into his own bag that he had and pulled out a bottle of water, "I want you to drink this okay. I'll see if Angeal has some tablets you can take." he face brightened a little more as he handed it to the blond.  
  
"Th-thanks..." Cloud looked down at the plastic bottle in his hand, automatically reading the label. The ironic title brought a tiny smile to his face, _"County Spring Water_. _"_   
  
Zack shifted his weight on his feet, taking a moment to think before he spoke next, "I'm sorry to suggest this, but I think we should forget today's lesson." he finally said.  
  
"W-what?!" Cloud's eyes shot up from the bottled water to the older boy, "N-no! I'm okay, really!" These classes with him and Angeal were the highlights of his week and he wasn't about to back out for anything. Without thinking he reached over and grabbed the sleeve of the older boy's sweater, "Please?" he whispered, giving the fabric a little tug.  
  
Zack looked conflicted, whatever sad face the blond had managed, obviously working on him. Letting out a heavy sigh he finally nodded, "Okay. But I want you to drink at least half of that and take a few minutes before coming into the gym." he said firmly, giving the younger teenager's nose a little poke, "You got that?"  
  
Cloud nodded, a relieved smile appearing on his face, "Yes." he verbally agreed as he was helped to his feet, "Thanks..."  
  
Zack walked along side him and even held the door to the locker room open for him, "Cloud..." he gently touched the other's shoulder when he was closer, "I know you don't want to tell me what happened... But if you ever need to just talk, I'll be around to listen." he told him, giving one of his braids a little stroke between his finger and thumb.  
  
A familiar tingling sensation travelled up the blond's abdomen, trailing up his chest and straight to his face, making his cheeks red. He'd had this feeling repeatedly every time he was around the older boy and it always seemed to get stronger at every reoccurrence. Biting down on his lip again, a little harder than usual he nodded, "Okay..."  
  
Happy with that response, Zack flashed his usual winning smile at him, "See you in a few." he said, leaning his head against the side of the door, watching the other walk into the changing rooms.  
  
The blond had trouble breathing as all the air left his lungs and that delightful sensation fluttering about in his stomach again, "Yeah." he smiled back, not turning away until the door closed and broke their eye contact, "Wow..." he let an unsteady breath escape him, not sure if he was dizzy from his fatigue or from the sudden giddiness. How the heck could someone so easily turn all your emotions upside down, with a simple smile?  
  
"Stop thinking too much, you're just tired." Cloud said aloud to himself, moving over to take a seat on one of the benches. Catching his refection in the mirror he groaned loudly. His tears earlier had messed up his make-up, causing the already apparent bags under his eyes look worse. Now that he had a moment he decided to chide himself for allowing Zack to see him like that. It worried the older boy and had almost cost him today's private lesson.  
  
_"Idiot..."_  he glared at the mirror and opened the unused bottle of water. Taking a drink, he hadn't realising how thirsty he'd been until now. Obviously more water was required in his daily life, to avoid this kind of awful headache in the future. Instead of getting changed right away, he took a few moments to relax, as he'd been requested to and try not to think about the little breakdown he had out in the hall.  
  
If at all possible, he just wanted to pass this incident off as a onetime thing and forget about it. With any luck Zack would too, but he knew better than to rely on that. Cloud decided that he would have to try and smile a lot tonight, if he wanted to make sure the older teenager wouldn't be concerned anymore.  
  
It was going to add more exhaustion to him and he was so far beyond tired it was ridiculous. But it would be worth it...


	9. Insecurities

Stifling a yawn, Cloud glanced to his right to check the time. It was early, far too early to be up and dressed already for school. Thinking back to a conversation the Friday before, he wholly regretted agreeing to help Aerith out before class today. Leaving an hour earlier than usually was not a welcomed this gloomy Monday morning. _  
_  
Turning his tired eyes away from the wall clock, he stared hard at the white painted front door of his apartment. He had been ready to leave for several minutes, but just couldn't seem to take that first step outside. After an uneventful and somewhat relaxing weekend of doing nothing, not even going out once, he was reluctant to leave.  
  
When the shock of his breakdown left him, it was replaced with embarrassment and new found paranoia. He felt that people were looking at him and somehow knew about it, as if it was written on his face. Of course logically, he knew this wasn't possible, but his emotions apparently didn't care about logic. The more time he spent by himself, the harder it was to ignore the irrational side of himself.  
  
With a frustrated sigh, Cloud finally found it in himself to move forward and exit the apartment. A sharp, cool breeze greeted him when he stepped out of his apartment, "Mn! It's worse than last week..." the teenager whined a little, fidgeting on his feet to keep warm as he locked his front door. Just as he was about to make a dash towards the stairs, he saw something unexpected, another person.  
  
Cloud paused in mid-step to blatantly stare at the stranger three doors down, locking his own door. After all the weeks he'd lived here, this was the first time he'd ever seen any of his neighbours. He knew he had some, since he heard people sometimes below him and the pipes always made noises, but he never physically saw anyone.   
  
The tall figure then noticed the teenager, most of his face was covered by the high collar of his trench coat. Actually, it was more like a luxurious cape, a deep red colour, decorated with black buckles, the long hem almost reaching his ankles. The guy looked like a character straight out of a fantasy novel.  
  
_"Wait..."_ the blond's brow frowned, remembering thinking the same thing when he first met one of his teachers—  
  
"Good morning, Cloud." a familiar voice broke through his thoughts.   
  
The teenager blinked several times, not really sure he believed what he was seeing, "Mr Valentine...?" he mumbled, finally recognising the man, "Uh, g-good morning." he added quickly, forcing a rather awkward smile.   
  
Vincent stepped away from his door and briefly faced the student, "You're out early." he commented simply, before making his way towards the stairs.  
  
Cloud paused and watched him for a moment. Was that a question? The History teacher was usually quite, when he wasn't talking about the subject in his lessons. He was definitely not the type to chit-chat, "U-um... m-my asked me to help her in the school gardens." He explained as he also made his way down the stairs.  
  
"Hm." The teacher nodded, but said no more.  
  
The short response made the blond frown more, the awkward silence a little too much for him to bear, "So... um..." he began again, clearing his throat, "I had no idea you lived here... I never see anybody else."   
  
"I began staying here two weeks ago, after discovering my apartment had an infestation." Vincent responded, not slowing his pace or even looking at the teenager, "This is only temporary."  
  
Cloud walked a little faster, to keep up with the older man's long strides, "What kind of infestation?" he asked, his curiosity now piqued.  
  
"It would appear that a mother Worm had nested in the floorboards of my apartment, before I lived there." The teacher let out a sigh, his breath visible in the cold air, "I was told the eggs can lay dormant for nearly two years before hatching."  
  
"Uhg, gross..." Cloud shuddered, at the thought. He hated Worms. They were longer than he was tall and three times as wide, with circular mouths full of pointed teeth. The worst thing about them was that they spit strings of sticky webbing when they felt threatened. You could be casually walking past one and end up covered in crap just for startling it.  
  
"Yes. Very gross..." Vincent agreed solemnly, "I can however, say from personal experience, that the larva are far worse than any of the adults. Since they seem to constantly release a sort of mucus from their bodies to protect their skin." He paused briefly, to glance at the teenager walking beside them, "I came home late one night to find them _everywhere_."  
  
"Ew, ew!" The blond shook his hands, almost able to feel the slime on his skin, "That's awful...  how long until you get your place back?"  
  
"I'm not sure." The teacher replied, casually checking his watch as they walked, "They first have to make sure all of the larva are gone from the building, before I can even think about planning repairs."   
  
"Sounds expensive..." Cloud mused aloud, knowing that stuff like that isn't exactly cheap.  
  
Vincent only nodded in response and the blond knew that their conversation was pretty much over. He was impressed that the taller man kept talking for as long as he did. Slowing is pace a little, the teenager kept a good few feet behind the teacher, his eyes watching the tail end of his long trench coat sway as he walked, _"Where do you even get a fancy coat like that?"_ he mused to himself, not accustomed to seeing clothing like that.  
  
When they reached the school gates, Cloud stopped completely and waited for Vincent to disappear into the building. Since he had been getting private lessons from Mr Hewley, he'd been hearing more and more crazy stories about the fan club members and their wild ways. So, while it may have been too early for most student to be on campus, the blond didn't want to risk being seen walking into the school with the teacher.  
  
Releasing a yawn, the teenager finally moved passed the gates and made his way towards the front entrance. Part of him wondered why he let himself get talked into coming out this early, when it was just barely light outside. Maybe Aerith had some super human power of persuasion, that bypassed all of his defences. It was a little irritating, but he wouldn't deny that he actually enjoyed spending time with her, however exhausting it might be.  
  
"Cloud~!" he paused at the steps leading to the front entrance of the school when his name was called.   
  
Speaking of exhausting...  
  
The blond grimaced a little when he saw Rufus standing by the front doors, surrounded by several cardboard boxes, "Perfect timing." he beckoned the other teenager over with his hand.  
  
Despite knowing better, Cloud approached him, "What do you wa— Hey!" he jumped back a little when the taller boy grabbed the collar of his coat to move it aside.  
  
"Hold still." Rufus frowned, as he finished placing a large pin neatly on the other blond's blazer.  
  
Cloud tilted the badge up, taking a moment to read it. " _Team Rufus."_ He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at that, "So, you really are running for Student Council President?" he asked, although it was more stating the obvious. The crazy bastard hadn't shut up about the idea since he decided on it less than a week ago. He was a little late in joining the running, but was pretty confident and very determined.  
  
"Of course." Rufus ran his hand over his neatly pulled back hair, his bangs swaying with the movement, "With my charisma and excellent leadership skills, I shall win this election and lead my fellow students down a more productive school curriculum—"  
  
"Boss, I got the posters!" Reno appeared suddenly, exiting the front entrance and carrying a large box under his arm. He was slightly out of breath and grinning widely, "Hey Cloudy." he greeted the other blond when he was closer.  
  
"Hey..." the blond rose an eyebrow, looking at the box, "You guys already got posters?" he asked, a little impressed that they were so organised, considering all this only started last week.  
  
"Of course we did, but not these ones." Rufus waved a hand dismissively, "Go throw those in the dumpster and make sure no one sees you." he instructed the younger teenager  
  
"You got it!" Reno nodded, practically bouncing down the stairs and ran off around the left side of building. Seconds later, Elena came running out of the entrance, looking terrified that she had just missed the redhead.   
  
"Rufus please." she begged, "If anyone finds out, I could lose my position in the student council."  
  
"No need to worry." the taller blond smiled proudly, "If that happens, I will simply reappoint you once I assume control." he stated confidently, although this didn't seem to pacify the girl.  
  
Cloud watched the exchange as his mind slowly deduced the situation, "You're getting rid of your opponents' posters." he commented, narrowing his eyes at the older student.  
  
Rufus looked at the other blond, his brow creasing, "Hm, I'm sensing disapproval from you..." he mused as he picked up a sticker and began peeling the back off.  
  
His suspicions confirmed, Cloud's expression just turned neutral, "You're an asshole."  
  
The other teenager nodded, not looking angry or even bothered by the comment, "Your criticism is duly noted." he then pushed Cloud's bang back and slapped the sticker onto his forehead, "See you later." he smiled pleasantly before turning away, now ignoring him completely.  
  
Surprisingly, Cloud couldn't feel any anger or even irritation at him right now, just indifference, "Dick..." he mumbled as he headed into the building, tugging the stupid label off his face. He looked down at it, reading the words _Vote Shinra_ in bold red letters before  noticing a plethora of matching advertisement all over the walls.  
  
Posters and flyers for Rufus were everywhere. How only three students did all this in a few days, was beyond his comprehension. Sighing to himself he tossed the sticker away and made his way further into the school.   
  
Cloud carried on through the semi-empty halls, before he reached the outside area where the gardens were. He stole a glance at the sky to see dark grey clouds quickly rolling in, and knowing  that he would regret forgetting his raincoat. After reaching a greenhouse in the centre, he noticed the door was already unlocked, "Aerith?" he called out, peeking his head inside, the strong scent of several flowers greeting him as he did.  
  
"Is that you Cloud?" the brunette responded, appearing from around a large rose bush, "Good morning!" she spoke in her usual upbeat sing-a-long tune, beckoning him to follow her, "Thanks again for helping me. Everyone else was busy."  
  
"No problem..." the blond mumbled, slowly trailing behind her. He let his eyes wander around the several plants that surrounded them. They were mostly common flowers that could be found anywhere, but some he knew were hard to maintain. "So, what do you need me to do?" he asked the brunette when they reached the core of the garden, large patches of white and yellow lilies scattered around the small area.  
  
Aerith smiled at him over her shoulder, "Oh, not much..." she shrugged her shoulders and picked up a list that was on a workbench, "Just taking inventory for winter semester." she added, pointing at the open storage closet.  
  
Cloud dropped his bag beside hers and shrugged off his coat, stopping halfway when he heard his friend giggle, "What?"  
  
"I see he got you too." The brunette pointed at the large badge, before pointing to a matching one that was pinned to her bag strap.  
  
The blond let out a heavy sigh, "Yeah..." he admitted an exasperated sigh. Of course he would have given one to her too. Before she could talk anymore about the annoying blond and his ego trip, Cloud changed the subject, "You working on something?" he asked quickly, looking at a beautiful pressed flowers in a glass frame on the bench.  
  
The brunette had to do a double take, following his line of sight, "Oh that." she laughed, waving her hand, "It's nothing, just a silly little gift for someone." she dismissed the item and began reading the list again.  
  
For the second time that morning, Cloud felt his curiosity creep up, but decided not to ask any more questions. He came here to help her with stuff after all, "Okay, what do you want first?" he asked firmly, walking towards the closet.  
  
"Umm, just those boxes for now." the brunette pointed at the stack beside the door, before making her way over to help him drag the plastic crates out of the small room.  
  
They got off to a good start, quickly counting through the first two boxes with no problems, but things slowed once they got to the third. After listening to Aerith talk for several minutes about the history behind a certain gardening tool, Cloud realised that her true hidden super power was procrastination.   
  
"Aerith..." he began softly, running a hand over the top of his hair, ready to start pulling the spikes out at this point, "We're only part way through these boxes and there's a whole bunch left." he told her honestly, but tried not to sound as annoyed as he was. _"I woke up stupidly early for this."_  
  
"Huh?" The brunette paused in her ramblings and then smiled sheepishly, "S-sorry." she nodded and put the tool down, before digging around in the box again, "Tifa's always saying that I have the attention span of a— ooh! I remember this!" she exclaimed suddenly, lifting an old watering can, "This used to be at my mom's flower shop, but then I brought it here last year to use and forgot to take it home. You see I..." she trailed off when she was met with a stern glare, "...should not be telling you this story right now." she grinned at him and put the item back down.  
  
When it was finally time for them to head to home room, they only managed to do half of the storage closet. Cloud felt a little unsatisfied with that, knowing they could have done much more. Perhaps if Tifa had been able to join them, it would have been done ages ago.  
  
"I'm sorry." Aerith told the blond as she locked up the greenhouse, "Are you mad?" she asked quietly, giving him an innocent look. He'd seen her do that a few times when she thought Tifa was getting moody and damn, it was pretty effective.  
  
"No." Cloud sighed heavily, letting his previous frustrations go, "I just wish we could've got more done."  
  
"Sorrryyy!" the brunette grabbed his arm so they could walk together, "You don't have to come again."  
  
"...are you sure?" he asked, sounding unsure. While he wouldn't want to wake up early for this again, he didn't want to be the friend that no one asked for help from.  
  
"Of course. Tifa should be able to help me finish." Aerith reassured him, pulling him along faster when they reached the corridors, that were now filled with other students, "She knows how to keep me focused."  
  
"Okay." Cloud managed to smile at her, imagining the banter between the two brunettes. For the sake of amusement it would almost be worth getting up early, just to watch it.  
  
"Seriously? No way." an amused voice caught the blond's attention as some girls walked passed them in the halls. He stole a glance at them, when he heard sniggering. Despite that they were not looking in his direction, for a moment he thought they were talking about him.  
  
Despite how ridiculous he knew it was, his paranoia seemed to be fighting him on the subject. Ever since he first noticed how hostile other students were towards him, he was starting to wonder if everyone was. It was hard to walk around other people and not feel that they were all sneering at him.   
  
"Oh yeah, are you doing anything this Saturday?" Aerith asked suddenly, snapping the blond back to reality, "It's Yuffie's birthday on Sunday and we want to take her shopping for a new outfit." she explained, releasing the blond's arm when they reached their classroom, "Her family is really big on parties, so she wants to get something special."  
  
Cloud's face fell a little, the innocent request weighing down on him more than it should have. He wasn't sure if he'd really be okay going out with them, but for some reason, he was too afraid to say no. "Y-yeah, sure..." he finally said after a brief silence, "I can come for a bit." he tried his best to keep his voice even and not give away his own discomfort.  
  
"Oh great." Aerith gave a sigh of relief as she took her seat, "It'll be so much more fun with you there too."  
  
_"I doubt it."_ Cloud forced himself to nod in agreement, while he mentally berated himself for having not courage to turn her down. Now that he agreed to go, his mind was filling up with several excuses he could have given. _"Fuck my brain..."_ he groaned inwardly, leaning heavily on his desk.  
  
His train of thought was broken when a laughing Reno came barrelling into the room and slid across his desk to land in his chair. Cloud heard Aerith sigh behind him, "What did you do?" she asked, smiling at the redhead.  
  
"Nooothing..." he replied with a cheeky grin.  
  
As if to visually contradict that statement, Tifa came stomping into the room, a firm glare on her face, "Damn it Reno!" she hissed at him, as she tossed her bag and jacket onto her desk, before removing her blazer.  
  
Cloud had to cover his mouth when he saw the several pin badges and stickers littered on the back of her uniform. Aerith however did not stifle her laughter, at let it out fully, "H-how did you get all those on there?!" her voice squeaked a little as she spoke through her giggles.  
  
Reno leant away from his desk, his chair tilting back onto two of its four legs, "A master never reveals his secrets." he said, looking rather smug.  
  
"That' a saying for magicians, idiot. Get over yourself." Tifa sneered at him, tossing a few of the items at him when she picked them off her clothes.   
  
"Hey, hey, leave a few on at least." Reno complained half heartedly, "Rufus needs your support." he shielded his face with his arm, when the brunette threw some of the badges at him.  
  
Tuning his classmates out, Cloud sank back into his pessimistic thoughts and turned to stare out the windows. He soon noticed tiny little hailstones hitting the glass, soon turning into slush as it turned into heavy rain. The blond scowled at the changing weather, knowing that this day was going to drag on and on, _"Great..."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sweet holy this was harder to write than it should have been. So sorry for the late update, I've had like half a dozen things written out, but none of them flowed with the previous chapter, so they're put aside for future ones. This one feels a little bit like an interlude chapter, despite that I've set up some things for later on. XD Hope you enjoy and I will do my best to get the next chapter out faster.


	10. Conflicting emotions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cloud is trying to deal with his feelings taking him on a roller coaster ride...

Cloud groaned a little as he moved about the locker room, dragging his feet. He wasn't sure how he was still awake after that two hour lesson. Angeal had decided that today they would do some endurance training and made the teenager run through an obstacle course several times. After struggling the whole thing, he swore he would never complain about the regular P.E classes again. They were easy in comparison.  
  
Pulling his shirt over his head, the blond winced aloud, _"Shit, that's gonna hurt tomorrow..."_ he mused to himself and rubbed his left bicep, attempting to sooth the ache. The burning in his legs weren't helping either and he was very much looking forward to going to straight to sleep when he got home.  
  
Once he finished changing, Cloud entered the hallway and stopped by the small office area that separated the two doors to the boys and girls locker rooms. He easily spotted the teacher in the box room, standing near a filing cabinet, "Um, bye Mr Hewley." he said as he lent in a little, getting the man's attention.  
  
Angeal looked up from what he was reading and glanced over his shoulder, "See you next week, Cloud." he replied with a smile, "Enjoy your weekend." he called out when the blond disappeared from the door way.  
  
"Uh, you too..." the blond awkwardly returned the sentiment and carried on his way down the hall. As he was about to turn a corner, he paused and peeked around the concrete wall.  
  
Feeling a tingle run up his spine, he bit his lip to suppress a grin when he saw Zack leaning against the wall a few feet away. The older boy hadn't seen him yet, his eyes focused on his phone, so the blond stayed where he was for a moment. He wasn't surprised that the taller teenager was waiting for him, since that had been the routine for the last few weeks. This little extra time with Zack outside of his lessons had quickly become Cloud's favourite activity.  
  
No matter how often it was, however, it still sent the blond's emotions through a loop, not that he was complaining. It became clear a while ago, that as time went on Cloud found he really liked the way Zack made him feel.  
  
Clearing his throat, the younger teenager finally stepped around the corner, a smile forming on his face when those bright blue eyes looked his way, "Hey." Zack's lips turned up into a grin in return, "Ready to go?" he asked, returning his phone to his back pocket.  
  
Looking down to the ground, Cloud nodded, "Yeah..." he mumbled, trying to sound casual.  
  
The older teenager moved from where he was standing and walked beside the blond, "How you feelin'? Your arms and legs doin' okay?" he asked with a sympathetic look on his face.  
  
Cloud took in a deep breath and then sighed, the puff of air visible now that they were outside, "They feel okay now..." he answered, rotating his shoulders a little, "But I don't think I'll be able to move tomorrow." he added jokingly.  
  
"I know exactly how you feel." Zack let out a laugh, gently patting the blond on the back, before his hand went to ruffle his spiky hair, "You did really good though. Better than I was the first time Angeal made me do endurance training."  
  
The smaller teenager looked away from the other boy, a warm blush crossing his face at the praise. While he had gradually become used to compliments from his friends and on occasion a teacher, he always felt different when it was coming from Zack. He couldn't understand why he was still so self-conscious around the older boy. There was no reason for him to be getting bouts of shyness with his friend, but that was the case.  
  
Perhaps it was just his internal struggle with his own insecurities. He had often thought that maybe after witnessing his breakdown the other week, Zack was simply being his friend because his felt sorry for him. Of course Cloud knew better than to listen to his paranoid brain, but the thoughts were still there and causing unwanted anxiety.  
  
The blond snapped out of his thoughts when he felt Zack pinch the middle of his furrowed brow, "What you thinking 'bout?" he grinned playfully when Cloud gave him a slight scowl, "Your forehead's all wrinkly."  
  
"Hn..." The younger teenager pouted at him, his hand instantly coming up to move his bangs in the way, to cover it up, "N-nothing." he shrugged, trying to act unaffected by the other's attempt to tease him.  
  
Zack lowered his hand, his grin never leaving his face, "Wrinkly foreheads aren't caused by nothing." he stated, gently tugging on one of the other's braids, "C'mon, you can tell me." when he got no reply from the stubborn little blond, he guessed, "You worried about that Math test Seph's gonna make you all do on Monday, or something?"  
  
Cloud rolled his eyes, "No, I— wait!" His expression changed completely when the question actually registered in his head, "There's going to be a test?!"  
  
At the younger teenager's reaction, Zack's grin faded into a slightly amused, yet guilty smile, "Uh... no? —No! Of course not." he coughed a little, averting his eyes and clearly trying not to laugh.  
   
The obvious lie of course didn't deter the blond from despairing, "This is the worst..." Cloud grumbled, running his hand over his head, pushing the spikes back. Sephiroth was probably one of the most unfair teachers when it came to marking his students work. If they don't show their problem solving, he will scrap it all as wrong, even if the answer was right.  
  
"Hey, hey, don't talk like that." the older boy said reassuringly, "It won't be so bad. I think he said something 'bout it being a progress thing..." he added, trying to make it seem better somehow, "Like checking that everyone's where they should be, ya know?"  
  
Cloud's eyes narrowed, "That hardly makes it better..." he said flatly, pursing his lips in the process.  
  
Zack visibly winced at the look and tone he was getting, "Oh...um..." tilting his head to one side, he gave the blond a sheepish smile, "Well, you know it's coming now. Just go over all your notes from the last few weeks and you should be fine."  
  
Cloud bit the inside of his cheek, trying not to give in to that puppy face, "You clearly haven't seen my notes..."  
  
The older boy paused for a moment, sighing when it was became obvious that the blond was going to just shoot down anything he said, "C'mon, quit being a moody chocobo." he sighed with a smile, playfully ruffling that soft spiky hair.  
  
Suppressing a grin, Cloud turned his head away, "No..." he said firmly, "I'll be moody if I want to."  
  
Zack pursed his lips at the protest, "You quit that or I'm gonna make you."  
  
"Ooh, I'm so scared." As soon as the words left his mouth, Cloud felt the older boy grab his sides and pull him closer, "Ah! N-no!" a laugh escaped him, when one hand managed to get into his coat to tickle him, "C-cut it- ah! Cut it out!" The blond squirmed in the tight hold, failing to keep his voice down as more giggles erupted from him.  
  
"I warned you!" Zack was also laughing, finally stopping the tickle attack but not letting the younger teenager go, "So, you gonna stop being a sourpuss?" he asked after a brief pause.  
  
When he was asked the question Cloud seriously considered relenting, but part of him actually didn't want the attention to stop, "Hmm..." he hummed thoughtfully, "Nope." he then grinned and lightly shoved the older teenager away so he could make a run for it.  
  
Unfortunately, he pushed a little too hard and Zack stumbled back a few feet, gently bumping into a parked car they were standing next to. A loud siren sounded from the vehicle and cut through the air, making the older boy physically jump away from it.  
  
Cloud covered his mouth, trying not to cackle at the older boy's terrified expression. Following gut instinct, the blond took off down the road, "H-hey!" A huge grin broke out onto Zack's face as he quickly followed after the smaller teenager, easily catching up and taking over. When they reached a corner to the road, he grabbed Cloud's hand and tugged him close, as they hid behind the brick wall, "...I don't think anyone saw us." he mused aloud, peering down the street at the car.  
  
Cloud's breath came out in short huffs and giggles, "Y-your face..." he tried to speak, but couldn't complete the sentence.  
  
"Huh?" the older teenager turned his attention towards the blond, "Oh. You found that funny, did you?" he smirked down at the younger when he giggled some more, "Well, you know what I find funny?"  
  
"Wha— no!" Cloud began squirming in the older boy's arms when he resumed tickling him, "You— ah!" he pushed Zack back against the wall, trying to break away from him, but to no avail. After a moment, the tickling ceased, giving him a chance to breathe again.  
  
A silence fell between them and Cloud felt Zack's arms encircle him, pulling him closer as they leant back on the wall. Being so close he could feel the other's body heat through his open jacket. With a small sigh, the blond lent heavily against the taller boy, taking a time to relish in the warmth, a welcomed moment of relief from the chilly evening air.  
  
In the back of his mind he could hear a voice telling him that this was not something they should be doing. They were student and teacher—well, teacher's assistant, but there was probably still a line being crossed here. Even if that weren't the case, they were still friends and as far as he knew friends didn't cuddle close like this, not when they were both boys.  
  
_"Both boys..."_ Cloud's eyes opened wide at the realisation. They were both boys and Zack didn't know that. Stealing a glance up at him, the blond wondered if he should just pull away. When he met the older boy's eyes, he froze in place, his face turning red.  
  
Zack looked completely amused, "Comfy?" he asked, his grin widening, "I've been told I'm the best to snuggle with."  
  
A pout quickly formed on Cloud's still blushing face, "N-no." he lied, but what else could he say? He wasn't about to be honest and say that he really liked being this close. Especially since he was hiding the fact that he was male.  
  
Zack let out a laugh and lent forward a little, pressing their foreheads together, "You're so cute."  
  
_Cute..._  
  
Hearing that word, even from Zack, left Cloud suddenly feeling gross inside. He hated it, whether it was being used to describe him, or something else. There had even been a few times when he used the thought of something as cute and he, would be mad at himself. It was silly in a way, to be so bothered by a casual word. But with memories of his uncles friend and the guy that triggered his panic attack, he couldn't let it go.  
  
Cloud placed his hands on the older boy's arms, "D-don't..." he began, pushing away from the warm embrace, "Don't call me that." he managed to say, trying to quell the rising anxiety in his chest.  
  
Zack looked surprised by the quick shift in the mood, "What?" he tilted his head to one side.  
  
The blond kept his eyes down, unable to muster up the courage to look at the other, "I-I don't like that word..." he quickly explained, stepping away completely. He silently cursed himself for getting worked up like this over that stupid word.  
  
"You don't like being called cute?" Zack asked after a moment, Cloud could only nod, "Oh... um..." the older boy rubbed the back of his neck, the awkwardness reaching unbearable heights.  
  
Cloud cringed at the tone of his voice. He could almost feel the question there, begging to be asked, "Sorry." Zack patted the younger teenager on the arm as he moved away from the wall, "C'mon, it's getting late." he smiled softly, when the other looked up at him.  
  
The blond was a little stunned that he wasn't asked why he was being so weird, "O-okay." he mumbled and followed after the older teenager, the twisting in his gut still there. He hated how easily his feelings seemed to keep flipping from good to bad and then to worse at the drop of a hat lately. It was so tiring and left him angry with himself. He shouldn't get all messed up over little things... he should be stronger than this.  
  
"So, got any plans for the weekend?" Zack asked after a long silence.  
  
The sudden question snapped the blond to attention, "U-um..." he fumbled with his bag strap, "Y-yeah. One of my friends has a birthday on Sunday, she wanted to go shopping or something."  
  
Zack looked at the blond as he spoke, "A birthday? Who is it?"  
  
"Uh, she's from the middle school section..." Cloud paused, unable to remember the little brunette's last name, "You know, Yuffie?"  
  
"Kisaragi?" the older boy grinned a little, "Yeah, I know her. She reminds me of a crazy, hyperactive hamster running in a wheel too fast."  
  
At the strange comparison, Cloud felt a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, "That kinda suits her." he admitted.  
  
"She was a handful last year, Angeal and the other's had a little trouble with her." Zack explained, "She's got a ninja obsession and they kept finding her in the weirdest hiding places. I think she was in the attic once." he said with a shrug, "So, what you thinking of getting her?"  
  
Cloud blinked a few times, having trouble keeping up with the shift in conversation, "Uh, for what?"  
  
The older boy rolled his eyes, "For her birthday."  
  
"Oh... Oh!" the blond felt his cheeks go warm, "Er, I don't know." he said honestly. He never really had friends to buy gifts for, so this was all pretty new. Not to mention that he did know Yuffie as well as Tifa or Aerith. Feeling Zack touch his head, the blond looked back up at him.  
  
"Don't sweat it. You'll think of something." the older boy said encouragingly, as he stopped walking, "Well, here we are." he tilted his head towards Cloud's apartment building.  
  
"Yeah..." The blond's smile dropped a little, "Thanks." he nodded to the taller teenager and began walking up the metal steps.  
  
"Hey, Cloud." Zack called after him, before he got too far up, "Uh, about before..." he began sheepishly.  
  
"D-don't worry about it." the younger boy quickly said, his hand tightly gripping the cold railing. He had been hoping that the little incident would come up again, "I was being stupid and—"  
  
"No, no. You're not stupid. If you don't like the word, that's fine..."  Zack shook his head, smiling a little, "I was just wondering... is _adorable_ okay?" he asked, looking a little awkward with the question.  
  
Cloud stared down at the dark haired teenager, before slowly nodding, "I guess... yeah." while the word meant the same as _cute_ , he didn't get the same yucky feeling in his stomach. But he had no idea why that was what Zack wanted to ask him.  
  
Relief passed over the older boy's face, "Right..." his smile grew as he reached up to touch Cloud's hand, his fingers warm against the chilled skin, "You're adorable." he said simply, before pulling his hand away.  
  
Butterflies suddenly burst inside the Cloud's chest, a tingling warmth rushing through him as that mixed feeling of comfort and giddiness from earlier returned tenfold, "...mn..." he nodded, his cheeks feeling hot.  
  
A slight grin replaced Zack's smile, happy with the expression he got, "See you next week." with a little wave, he turned away and began walking down the street, "G'night."  
  
Cloud watched him for a moment, completely dumbfounded. A brisk gust of wind brushed passed him, bringing him out of his daze. With a shudder he quickly made his way up the stairs, stopping at his door to look out over the balcony. Sure enough, Zack was waiting at the end of the road, giving another wave. Smiling fully again, the blond returned before retreating into his apartment.  
  
On the other side of the door, Cloud put his hand on his chest, feeling his heart beating wildly. How had that happened? His feelings had only ever gone sour, with no hope of recovery when he got upset, but with Zack...  
  
_"You're adorable."_  
  
"Oh Gaia!" the blond covered his face, his body alight with a warm tingling sensation, that threatened to set him off giggling. It didn't help that his mind was no fixated on that embrace from before. Why had it felt so nice anyway? He got hugged by Aerith all the time and even Tifa once or twice, but they never made him feel that way so...  
  
"Stop it. Stop it." he muttered aloud to himself, afraid to ask himself why it was different. He wasn't sure if he could handle the possibly scary answer, "Just go to bed..." he told himself and pulled his hands from his face. The sight that greeted him however, was enough to make him wish he was lost in his thoughts.  
  
After all, another day gone meant he had to endure another night alone here...  
  
He of course was grateful for the nice apartment, with all the little luxuries that he'd ever need and all paid for on top of that. But part of him still felt out of place and unsettled in here at night. The rooms seemed to widen in the dark, creating an ominous atmosphere, making comfortable sleep almost impossible.  
  
Another sigh escaped the blond as he made his way over to the couch, that was still covered in his large duvet that almost swallowed it. He hated the fact that he felt so uneasy in the dark, when he knew for a fact that there was nothing there to be scared about.  
  
"Just go to bed." he told himself again, in a more firm tone. He needed to sleep so he could function like a normal human tomorrow.  
  
*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*  
  
Cloud's tired eyes stared blankly forward, as he watched the young brunette bounce around the dress store, fawning over all the styles and colors, "Does she ever stop?" he asked Aerith, who was standing beside him, looking at some hand bags.  
  
"Nope." the older girl grinned over her shoulder at the blond, "Not even in her sleep."  
  
"That's..." looking back over at the younger teenager, he grimaced, "...terrifying." he pursed his lips when she laughed.  
  
"She really is." Aerith nodded in agreement as she checked the price of a brown, buckled bag, "Tch, too pricey..." she sighed and put it back on the rack.  
  
"She's..." Cloud smiled a little, "Kinda like a crazy, little hyperactive hamster that's running around  in its wheel too fast." he mused, his mind wandering back to Zack, for the umpteenth time since he woke up this morning. He just couldn't get the older boy out of his head...  
  
Aerith looked at him, her brow frowned a little, "She really is..." she agreed after a moment, "She's a ball of energy."  
  
Cloud watched the brunette for a moment, having noticed a slight shift in her tone. Before he could ask her if she was alright, he felt someone tug on his dress, "I want this color Tifa!" Yuffie whined loudly, pointing at the subtle ivy pattern on the wool material, "It'll go really nice with the shoes my dad got me."  
  
"Hey." the blond frowned and pulled the dress out of her grasp, "You'll stretch it." he grumbled as he checked to make sure it was alright. He never liked the thought of dresses, they were on the same level as skirts in his eyes. But after trying on the warm outfit this morning, he couldn't resist wearing it out to protect him from the cold.  
  
"The colors remind me of that outfit from last week's episode." Yuffie carried on pawing at the dress, not listening to the protests from the blond teenager, "You know, the one with the giant serpent?"  
  
"Oh yeah..." Tifa nodded in recognition, "With the Rose Queen."  
  
Cloud looked between the two brunettes, not following their conversation at all, "What are they talking about?" he turned to Aerith again, hoping she could enlighten him.  
  
The older girl smiled at him, linking their arms together, "They're talking about a TV show called Ninja Supremacy."  
  
Cloud raised an eyebrow, at the name, "What's that?" he asked, "I've never heard of it." when he heard the small girl gasp loudly, he turned and saw her eyes bright and full of excitement, _"Oh, please no..."_  
  
"Oh my gosh! It is the most AMAZING story!" Yuffie moved lightning fast and seized the blond's other arm, "You would love it!" she insisted happily and began jumping in place.  
  
Cloud looked between Tifa and Aerith, silently begging them to save him from the mistake he had just made. The two brunette's looked equally amused and made no move to assist him. Instead they went to the counter to look at some accessories. After secretly swearing some sort of vengeance, he realised that Yuffie was already talking about the TV show.  
  
"So then, when the evil overlord takes over the kingdom, it's up to the ninja prince to gather an army and march onto his castle." Yuffie gestured with her hands as she spoke, "But the overlord knows that the prince is in love with a poor servant girl that lives in his city." She gave a lot of dramatic flair as she spoke, "He then kidnaps her, to try and force the prince to surrender and the hero is torn between saving the world or his love. Isn't that so tragic?"  
  
Cloud blinked a few times and made sure she was finished before he spoke, "So, it's an action romance, right?" he asked, having only caught about half of everything she said so far.  
  
"Don't forget supernatural, too." Looking rather excited about the question, Yuffie grinned widely, "It's a TV show, a game, a movie, a novel and comic series." she listed off each medium with her fingers, "Oh my gosh, I'll let you barrow the disk. I have the special boxed set, with the limited cover."  
  
Cloud pursed his lips, his eyes widening as he now didn't know what she was referring to, "Of the... game?" he asked ,completely unsure if he was right.  
  
"Nooo!" Yuffie giggled and playfully swatted at his arm, "Starting with the game is silly, you won't have a clue what's going on." she rolled her eyes and sighed, "You need to watch the TV show first to get to know all the characters. The movie is really only a shorter version, but still pretty. Then you should read the comic for everything to make sense, but only after you look at the novel."  
  
Cloud stared blankly at her, feeling his energy plummet as she carried on talking. Even after they found her a dress and left the store, she was still going on about it. How could there be so much lore to a single story? Sequels, prequels and even spinoffs? How could she even remember it all?!  
  
After what seemed like forever, the group made their way into a book store, where Yuffie finally gave Cloud a moment of peace, "Oh, I gotta go check if my subscription is in. Be right back." she smiled at him before running off to the counter.  
  
"T-take your time..." Cloud sighed, sending a slight glare at Tifa, while she grinned in return, "It's not funny."  
  
"It's a little funny." the brunette sneered playfully, before she began browsing the shelves.  
  
Taking time to relax a little before the tiny hurricane returned to him, the blond decided to look around as well. He wandered through the sections, finally coming to short stories. He liked reading, but never anything that wasn't finished, he'd hate to wait so long for it.  
  
Noticing a rather pretty display of  books, Cloud moved further down the aisle, to where the shelved books created a gradient pattern with the covers. Picking a random red one, he began flipping through the pages. After skimming through it, he quickly deduced that it was a love story, where the main heroin was seeking the affection of her handsome co-worker.  
  
"Kind of boring..." Cloud frowned as he flicked through some more pages. He noticed that there was no real conflict, apart from the character's initial goal, not even a rival. Still, it was strange to see a book that had nothing to drag the reader in—  
  
_’She let out a breathy moan, as he trailed open mouthed kisses down her neck... his rough hands grapping her hips as he pulled her closer to him.'_  
  
The blond's blue eyes widened considerably as they scanned over the paragraph, a hot flush running up his neck. Holding the book closer to his chest, he quickly looked around, afraid that someone was there. He was alone in the aisle, able to see Aerith in the gardening section, but he was alone at least. Sighing in relief Cloud looked back at the section, now noticing the series was called 'Sensual' and it should have been obvious when he picked up the book. Feeling his curiosity creep up, the teenager opened the book again and began reading again.  
  
_'With one hand in her golden blond hair and the other trailing down her bare hip, he guided her towards the bed.'_  
  
Cloud gulped as he got further down the page, find the book more interesting than he should have. At one point he began to notice the descriptions of feelings were familiar to him. The excitement and giddiness of being embraced by someone you're attracted to and what it could lead to...  
  
_'She let her head fall back onto the pillow, moaning in anticipation as he kissed his way down her thigh, towards her centre. Her fingers laced into his dark hair, pulling him closer to her body, not wanting to wait any longer to feel his_ — _'_  
  
"Oh my gosh!" At the loud voice the blond whipped his head around quickly, coming face to face with none other than Yuffie. Grinning wildly, the brunette snatched the book away and ran down the aisle, calling to Tifa and Aerith nearby, "Cloud's reading porn!!"  
  
"Y-Yuffie!" Cloud took off after her, stuttering incoherently as he tried to silence her and get the book before ever person in the store knew what he'd been looking at.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo, long time no post! Little bit of second hand smut towards the end there. XD Here is a slightly longer chapter than last time, I hope you enjoy the clack fluffs and lols. (Sorry if there are any errors, I finished this in a hurry, because my laptop is going away for a while) Yuffie is the ultimate fan girl, she puts us all to shame.


	11. Unsteady

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey, sorry for the delay. I was working on this last week but then I saw the KH 0.2 opening and sort of lost it. XD This chapter picks up where the last one left off, hope you enjoy. Feel free to leave a comment.

Embarrassment was nothing new to him. Cloud had felt it many times before during his young life, he was a teenager after all. But the one thing he was having a hard time with was the shame that accompanied the familiar emotion. Oh the shame... his stomach was twisted into knots and still churning, even after they had long left the bookstore. While he knew he should just put it behind him, it was hard to let it go when there was something to remind you of it.  
  
"I can't..." Cloud began quietly, looking up at the girl sitting across from him, "I can't believe you bought it..."  
  
Aerith just gave a casual shrug, as she flipped through the book she purchased. After Yuffie had shown it to them, she shamelessly decided to get it. No hesitation and not a care about what other people might think.  
  
"I can't believe you tried to stop her." Tifa replied, reading over the other brunette's shoulder, "Pfft, is that even effective?" she chuckled while pointing at something on the page.  
  
A little grin appeared on Aerith's face, "I dunno, maybe you should try it." she said suggestively, wiggling her eyebrows, causing the other girl to snigger.  
  
"Aw, come on!" Yuffie whined, "Let me read it too!" she pouted at the pair, leaning over the round table, trying to get closer.  
  
"No." both older girls replied unison, keeping the book tilted away from her so she couldn't even see the pages.  
  
The blond nervously glanced around them, wishing that they would just put the damned thing away and not read it in a public place. While this was better than being judged for looking at it, Cloud still couldn't believe that the situation turned out this way. Of course everyone talked about boys getting into perverted things, but he never heard girls looking at books like this.  
  
"Oh wow!" Tifa began laughing a little louder, rolling her eyes, "That's just... wow."  
  
"I know..." Aerith agreed, covering her mouth to quite her own laugh, "Hey Cloud, look at—"  
  
"I'm good, thanks." the blond said quickly, not wanting to read anymore of the book. Well, he kind of _did_ , but he wasn't going to tell them that. The humiliation was too much to bear already. He breathed a sigh of relief when the subject wasn't pushed further, but kept his head turned away all the same.  
  
Looking out the cafe window, his eyes fell on a familiar sight just on the upper floor. It was the pet store that he and the girls had visited last time he came here with them. Feeling that this was a good opportunity to break away from the group for a few minutes, he slowly stood up, "I'm, uh... gonna go look at the animals." he told them, finally looking back to his friends.  
  
All three girls leant over in their chairs to look where he pointed, "Oh, I see." Aerith smiled at him, "Okay, you go on ahead, we'll catch up."  
  
"See ya in a sec." Tifa casually waved, her focus back on the book.  
  
"We'll be right behind ya." Yuffie added before once again trying to look at the book.  
  
Cloud glanced around the table as he picked up his bag, a little surprised that he wasn't met with some kind of protest, or them suggesting to come with him straight away. _"Maybe they really don't care."_ he thought to himself before nodding to them, "R-right." he said as he turned on his heels and left the cafe.  
  
Once at a safe distance, he let out a heavy sigh, the tension in his shoulders fading. He liked the girls, he really did, but he was starting to feel the limits to how much time he could spend with them. If he could find a way to balance socializing and still have some personal space, life would be less stressful. _"If they don't get sick of you first..."_  
  
Cloud let out a frustrated sigh, "Shut up brain..." he mumbled to himself as he entered the pet store. The pessimistic voice in his head was getting worse every day and was becoming harder to ignore.  
  
"Oh, hi there." A voice called to him, breaking his train of thought, "Welcome back." Cloud looked up at saw the store employee from last time smiling at him, "Just you today?" Essai asked.  
  
"Oh, um..." Cloud chewed his lip, "No, my friends are coming in a minute..." he replied awkwardly, moving closer to the animals. Just when he though he wouldn't have to talk anymore, the other shop worker appeared around a corner, almost startling him.  
  
"You here to buy the puppy?" the tall brunet asked, looking a little hopeful, "We'll throw in some free toys and food?" he added.  
  
Cloud stared at him, "What? ...no." he shook his head, frowning at him. As his eyes wandered around the store, now seeing the little black creature still in his kennel.  
  
Sebastian frowned and gave a heavy sigh, "Shame." he then mumbled to himself, as he carried on sorting through some large bags of pet food. When the puppy finally noticed the blond, he began barking, earning a grin from the tall brunet, "Yes. We're talking about you." he called to it, without turning around.  
  
Cloud immediately made his way over to the dog, "Hey, little guy." he cooed and reached over the glass wall to make a fuss of him. The huge puffball let out happy squeaks and bounced up, trying to get into the blond's arms. Looking back over his shoulder at the employees he frowned a little, "What happened to that person who said they were interested?"  
  
"Yeah that... Well, the guy was an old mentor of ours and was always good with dogs, so I thought he'd be perfect." After putting the bags of food in place, Seb grabbed a box from a tall shelf and moved towards the counter, "But his home is a little hectic right now." a slight grin appeared as he looked at Essai, "He said he already had one puppy to deal with and wasn't sure if he should get another just yet." he added, making his co-worker chuckle.  
  
"Really?" Cloud's expression tuned a little sad, "Is the other puppy a big breed like this one?" he inquired, thinking that one was probably a handful on its own and two would be over doing it.  
  
There was a pause from the two older people, "Hmm, I'm not sure..." Essai began, his smirk widening, "I guess he's a wolf hybrid?" he mused, gently drumming his fingers on the counter.  
  
"Who knows..." Sebastian chuckled, as he pulled various squeaky toys out of the box and sorted them by color, "But he's part wild for sure." he added.  
  
Cloud's eyes widened, "Is that even legal?" He'd heard of people keeping wild animals or hybrids as pets, but it was always said to be too dangerous. His expression turned a little sour, when the pair began laughing, as there was some sort of inside joke that he wasn't aware of. With a huff he turned his attention back to the puppy, no longer interested in the subject.  
  
"Yo, sorry I'm a little late." he heard a new voice say, "Had to throw some punks out for wrecking a display."  
  
"It's fine." Essai said, "You can just pay for lunch."  
  
"Hey now, I'm not _that_ late!"  
  
Cloud lent on the glass kennel, still petting the puppy, not paying attention to the voices behind him. He smiled when the dog moved closer to lick his face, "You're a good boy..." he told him.  
  
"Still here I see." the new voice from before spoke again, but much closer to the blond. When a hand came into view to also pet the puppy, Cloud practically jumped back, looking up to see a tall man wearing the mall security uniform. Noticing the sudden movement, the brunet looked at the teenager, the upper part of his face hidden my his cap.  
  
There was a moment of silence and awkward staring, before the guy lifted the visor a little, revealing blue eyes, "Yo!" he called to the other two, not breaking eye contact with the teenager, "When did you guys start selling chocobos?" he asked, a smirk appearing on his face. When the Cloud glared at him he whistled, "Whoa, if looks could kill..."  
  
"Kunsel, don' be rude, it's bad customer service." Essai chided security officer.  
  
"Right, right..." the brunet nodded and smiled at Cloud, "Sorry." he held his hand out, "Name's Kunsel, good to meet ya."  
  
The blond teenager's eyes narrowed at the offered greeting, "Hi." he said not shaking his hand and just turning back to the puppy.  
  
Kunsel pursed his lips at the cold response, but didn't say anything, "So, what are you guys gonna do with the pup?" he asked his friends.  
  
Sebastian frowned at him, "We have no idea... but we have to think of something fast, he'll be too big soon."  
  
"I see..." the shorter brunet sighed, "Hmm, I wonder..." he mused to himself, while watching the puppy continue to jump up at Cloud, "Hey, hold him still for a sec will ya." he told the blond as he pulled out his phone.  
  
"Why?" the teenager scowled at the security guard.  
  
"I have a friend who loves dogs, but he's been so busy lately he hasn't seen this little guy yet." Kunsel explained as he held his phone up, "I just thought I should send him a picture." he motioned for the blond to hold the puppy, "Keep him still. I need a size reference." he insisted with a grin.  
  
Cloud's brow furrowed, but he complied with the request, reaching into the kennel to take hold of the baby animal. The black pup once again tried to jump into the blond's arms and began licking his face, causing the teenager to smile. This dog was just too precious.  
  
"Alright..." Kunsel tilted his phone slightly, before he took the picture, "Perfect. Thanks." he smiled brightly as he quickly typed something into his phone. Sebastian had moved closer and peered over the shorter brunet's shoulder to see what he was writing. Whatever it was it made him roll his eyes and scoff.  
  
Cloud watch out of the corner of his eye. He thought it was sad that the dog might not get adopted, so the prospect of a possible owner was enough to prompt a question from him, "Will your friend buy the puppy?" he asked after a moment.  
  
"Dunno. Maybe." Kunsel shrugged his shoulders, leaning against the kennel, "It'd be great if he did." just then his phone began to ring, making him smirk, "Speak of the devil." he chuckled and moved away to answer the call, "Hey man, what's up?" He side glanced at the blond teenager as his friend spoke on the other end, "Oh yeah? So, it is—" he paused again and began sniggering, "W-what? No, no."  
  
While it made sense to have someone hold the dog to show its size, the way the guy just looked at him, made Cloud a little suspicious. But he honestly didn't know if that was just his paranoia playing up. He didn't know this guy, so why would he send a picture of him to his friend?  
  
"Animals!" Yuffie's high pitched voice filled the air as she came bouncing into the pet store, Aerith and Tifa close behind her.  
  
"Hello, good to see you again." Essai waved at them, before looking at the smallest girl, "With another new face too." he commented as he watched the little brunette investigate every cage.  
  
"Sorry about her." Tifa sighed and walked after the younger girl, "Don't tease them." she scolded her, when she began tapping one of the bird cages.  
  
Yuffie pouted at her, "But he hissed at me first."  
  
Aerith made her way over to Cloud, "Oh, he's still here?" she frowned when she saw the puppy, "Poor baby." she cooed and stroked his head. When she spotted the man talking on his phone, she looked surprised, "Oh my gosh. Tifa, it's Kunsel." she called over to the other girl with a smile.  
  
The taller brunette pursed her lips when she too saw the security guard, "Ohh great." she said sarcastically, before turning away.  
  
Cloud smirked a little at the response, glad to know that it wasn't just him that didn't like the guy much. Glancing up at Aerith he frowned, "So you guys know him too?" he asked, although he really didn't care.  
  
"A little." the brunette nodded, "He usually works the night shifts, so we rarely ever see him."  
  
"So, you still coming tomorrow, right?" Kunsel's voice became louder as he walked around the store, coming back to the puppy's kennel, "Good. You've been too busy. 'Kay, bye." he said with a laugh, flipping his phone shut, "Hey flower girl." he smiled at Aerith when he saw her, "How've you been?"  
  
The green eyed girl shrugged her shoulders, "Same old, same old. Me and mom repainted the outside of the store."  
  
"Awesome, I might have to come by and check it out."  
  
Cloud grimaced as he soon found himself, literally standing in the middle of their conversation. With a person talking on either side of him, he quickly became unbearably uncomfortable. Why did they have to talk passed him? Couldn't one of them have just moved around him? Suppressing a loud sigh, he took a step back and moved away, not even a small whine from the puppy was enough to make him stay.  
  
He didn't get very far, however, before he stopped in his tracks as a high pitched howl filled the air. The blond whipped his head around to look at the source. Both Aerith and Kunsel had stopped talking, when the puppy decided to make his protests known. The little black bear of a dog, began whining again, patting his feet as if throwing a tantrum, his dark eyes fixated on Cloud. The blond felt his heart melt when the little pup tilted his head back to let out another squeaky howl.  
  
"Aww..." Aerith covered her mouth, unsure if she wanted to laugh or cry at how adorable it was.  
  
"It's like he's love sick." Kunsel gave the dog a few pats, "Puppies must really like chocobos." he sent a half smirk towards Cloud, which was of course met with another icy glare, "Anyone ever tell you, you got one hell of an angry face? Seriously. I'm actually afraid for my life here."  
  
Cloud felt his fist clench, the guy was really pushing his buttons for some reason and he didn't know why. It wasn't like Kunsel was the worst person he'd ever come across, not when he has to deal with Reno and Rufus at school. Maybe after dealing with Yuffie all day, he'd completely run out of patience or something like that. While he really wanted to go back to the puppy, he didn't want to hang around anymore and get angry over something small. He was already way too tired for that.  
  
"I... I gotta go." He finally said, looking at Aerith, "I need to get home." he added when he saw disappointment and confusion cross her features.  
  
"Whaaat?" Yuffie whined from the fish section, "But we have so much time left in the day!" she protested, running over to Cloud, "I still have so much to tell you about Ninja Supremacy, too."  
  
"I-I know, sorry..." the blond nervously bit his lip, not knowing how to phrase his desire to leave any better without insulting everyone present.  
  
"Are you okay?" Tifa walked closer to the other teenager, "Do you feel sick?" she asked, obviously confused by his sudden decision to leave as well.  
  
"N-no. I just... Sorry!" He quickly moved back, "See you guys at school, I..." whatever he was going to say simply faded from his brain before it reached his mouth, "Uh, bye!" he put all his effort into one last smile as he turned away.  
  
_"Shit, shit, shit!"_ Cloud felt his throat tighten, as his anxiety began to creep up on him, filling his head with panicked thoughts. Why had that been so hard? Why couldn't he act more natural in a normal situation like that? _"They probably think you're a fucking weirdo!"_  
  
By the time he returned to his apartment, Cloud was far more exhausted than he was previously. His body felt heavy and while his panic had faded a while ago, he was left with the lingering frustration over his behaviour. _"You're such a fucking loser."_ he thought bitterly to himself as he walked through the front door. _"Why does anyone even put up with you?!"_  
  
"Cloud?" he heard a voice call him, Cissnei soon appearing in the hall to greet him.  
  
The blond let out a groan, no longer hiding his frustrations, "What the fuck..." he muttered, bringing a hand up to run through his hair. He knew there was no meeting scheduled today, so why was she here? Why couldn't everyone just leave him alone for a while?  
  
The auburn haired woman frowned at the reaction she was met with, "Are you alright? Did today not go okay?"  
  
Cloud chewed the inside of his cheek, his anger quickly boiling over, "What the fuck do you think?!" he snapped at her, stomping down the hall towards the bathroom, "Just leave me the hell alone! I don't want to— I just... fuck!" he let out another frustrated yell and slammed the door shut.  
  
Cissnei stood in the hall, watching the door, "Well..." she frowned, crossing her arms. She had not seen Cloud this bad before with his anxiety, but was hardly fazed by the outburst. She had seen far worse in her line of work of course, "I'll let you cool down then." she called out to him, before re-entering the living room to wait.  
  
In the bathroom, Cloud hand sat himself behind the door, his knees pressed to his chest. Of course now his anger was choosing to disappear, leaving nothing but guilt and self loathing in its place. Why was he so quick to snap? Why wasn't he stronger than all this mess?  
  
_"Why are you so weak?"_ that annoying voice was back, telling him all the hurtful things the darker part of his mind could come up with. _"Shut up, shut up, shut up..."_ he whispered to himself over and over. __  
  
After what felt like an eternity, but was probably only twenty minutes, Cloud finally emerged from the bathroom and made his way down the hall. He peeked into the living room, quickly spotting his female guardian on the couch, "Cissnei?" he called softly, getting her attention, "M'sorry..." he managed to say, feeling another lump for in his throat.  
  
The woman looked up from the magazine she was reading and smiled at him, "Do you feel better?"  
  
"No..." the blond replied honestly, finally entering the room and sitting down in the chair across from the couch, "I don't know what's wrong with me." he sighed heavily, "One minute I'm feeling normal, then the next I suddenly just... I'm not okay anymore."  
  
Cissnei nodded as she listened to him try to explain, "I'm not sure how to help you with that. But I do have a colleague that might be able to." she smiled a little when looked up with a little hope in his eyes. "That's actually why I came here today. I wanted to talk to you about her and see if you would be interested in talking to a more qualified person about all this."  
  
"A new person..." the blond mused to himself, wondering if they should even bother. It was hard enough for him to open up to people he was comfortable with. He glanced up at his guardian, "I... I dunno..."  
  
Cissnei gave a sigh, but was still smiling, "We won't force you. But I really feel that it will help you a lot." she explained, "Of course we need you for the case against your uncle, but your health and safety is out number one priority." she leant forward a little, resting her arms on her knees, "Will you at least try?"  
  
Cloud's lips pursed forward into a full on pout, "...kay." he said quietly, "I'll try..." he spoke a little louder.  
  
"Thank you." The woman smiled at him, before standing up, "Now, let clean up in here a little. Rude's on his way over with some pizza." she motioned to the bedding and pillows on the couch, as well as the mess on the coffee table.  
  
Cloud looked around the room, frowning more he turned his gaze down to look at his hand, "S-sorry." he whispered. Before the doubtful voice in his head could tell him was a slob he was, he felt Cissnei pinch his nose.  
  
"Enough apologising." she sighed, giving his head a little shake, still holding his nose, "Trust me, I've had tougher babysitting jobs than you." she released him, now smiling again.  
  
The blond rubbed his face, "Really? I find that hard to believe..." he said bluntly, unable to imagine a more messy situation than this or a more difficult ward than himself. Perhaps he wasn't the most stubborn person in the world, but he was making the whole thing harder, despite everyone trying to help him.  
  
The agent crossed her arms over her chest, giving the teenager an unimpressed look, "You know what? You're right. Infiltrating a dangerous organisation, to pull it apart from the inside _and_ look after a wayward idiot, doesn't sound that bad actually." she said in a mocking surprised tone.  
  
Cloud's eyes widened a little, "You did what?!"  
  
"Nothing much. Just some computer hacking and stealing information..." Cissnei waved her hand, dismissing it, "It's such a _boring_ story!" she added and began tidying up around the living room, not saying anymore on the topic, "I'm gonna get the vacuum." she announce and left the room.  
  
The blond watched her walk away, his curiosity now piqued and left unsatisfied, "C-Cissnei, wait!" he called out and followed after her, "What happened to the idiot?!"


	12. Overcoming difficulties

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all, sorry it has been so long since my last update. I've not had much time or focus, since I was travelling around Japan and then returning home to the UK. I also was having trouble with this chapter, after deciding to bring in he perspective of different characters. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one, although it's a little more serious than the previous. Let me know what you think.

  
Cissnei watched in apprehensive silence, as Cloud was introduced to the co-worker that was to act as his therapist from today onward. Emma, as she chose to call herself for this job, was an exceptional agent with specialist training in Psychology. Since they were unable to let anyone beyond their unit into the case, she was the only one qualified to help the young blond. This however did not quell Cissnei's worry. While she knew that _Emma_ was good, she also knew Cloud well enough to predict resistance from him.  
  
Since being assigned to the teenager, she took note of how long it took for him to become comfortable with her and how much longer for him to warm up to Rude. Cloud was an introverted individual and when faced with something he didn't like, was one of the most stubborn people she'd ever met. Sure, she was able to get him to agree to some things, but that always took a lot of convincing, when he wasn't keen on the idea. She was honestly surprised that he agreed to meeting Emma today, considering the arguments that erupted this morning. Cloud had agreed to meet her co-worker, but when he found out he needed to come to a neutral building in town, he kicked up a fuss.  
  
Despite all these faults, she meant what she had told him yesterday evening, about having more difficult wards. One in particular from a recent and still open case, sprang to mind—  
  
"Well, let's get started then." Emma's voice brought Cissnei back from her thoughts, "The session will be an hour long." the blond told her fellow agents, who were standing near the door to the room.  
  
Cissnei noticed the change in Cloud's expression at realising that he was gonna have to talk without his guardians in the room. There was no way he would last the full sixty minutes. "Sure." she finally replied and moved to the door, Rude following behind her, "We'll be right outside Cloud." she told the teenager before exiting.  
  
After closing the door, the auburn haired woman turned to her partner, "So, how long do you think?" she asked, joking half-heartedly.  
  
The bald man folded his arms across his chest, leaning back against a wall, "I say... fifteen minutes."  
  
Cissnei pursed her lips, thinking for a moment, "I say twenty or twenty-five, if he's feeling cooperative." she finally said, giving a small shrug. Although the little bet was just the agents attempts to lighten the mood, the reality of this not working was weighing heavily on them both.  
  
Nearly eighteen minutes passed before they both saw the teenager come storming out of the room. Tears threatening to fall from his eyes, he made a beeline for a nearby bathroom and locked himself inside, before his guardians could say anything to him.  
  
"Damn..." Cissnei's jaw clenched.  
  
"Don't let it discourage you." She heard Emma say behind her, "We're only at the start."  
  
"I know." Cissnei sighed heavily, moving away from where she was standing, "Let me see if I can talk to him." she smiled at the blond woman over her shoulder, before walking towards the bathroom with unwavering determination.  
  
Not only was this necessary for Cloud's mental well being, they also needed him ready for the court hearing. From experience they knew that any signs of reluctance or anxiety during questioning, the boy would be deemed an unfit witness and the case dropped. Too many times had that happened with other's they had managed to get for other parts of this assignment. When the witnesses weren't paid off, they were too terrified to comply with their protectors and would often flee.  
  
_"This will work."_ Cissnei thought to herself. It _had_ to work and she was going to stick with it. Unknowing to Cloud, his role in this whole mess was far more important than he was aware of. His participation was a crucial part of a much bigger case. But that didn't mean his safety came second. As long as he was in her care, she was going to ensure his protection in all this. Even if he was going to be difficult the whole way.  
  
*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*  
  
Angeal repressed a heavy sigh as he listened to the concerns of the three girls standing in front of him. The highest ranking members of his fan club, Keepers of Honour, had come forward to protest the 'special treatment' of a particular blond student. He knew this conversation was going to come up eventually when he agreed to give Cloud Strife extra self defence classes, but he still didn't want to deal with it, especially on a busy Sunday afternoon.  
  
Every other week, the school was open to the clubs and their members to use. This was arranged so their activities would not interfere with their school work. The arrangement even allowed more time for the teachers to complete their own work. But now wasn't a good time for Angeal. He had classes to prep and reports to go through regarding the various sports teams that were in his charge. Still however, he sat there, letting them carry on.  
  
"She should be caught up with the rest of the class by now!" The shortest girl bluntly stated, looking to be the most upset about this, "It's not fair that she's the only one—"  
  
"What she means, Sir..." the fan club president cut in, "Is that if Miss Strife is still having lessons, then they should be available to everyone at least." she reiterated more politely.  
  
Giving a nod, Angeal rose his hand to stop them, so he could finally speak, "Girls, listen..." He began, allowing his eyes to momentarily glance over to his co-worker, who looked far too amused by his predicament, "While I indeed wanted to catch Cloud up with her classmates, I continued the lessons for the purpose of training Zack as an instructor."  
  
While a look of understanding crossed over their expressions, although they probably still wanted to argue on the subject, "Come on, you all know Zack." Angeal spoke again, smiling at them, "Do you really think he would be able to focus on more than one student at first?"  
  
The three girls shared a glance, slight smiles appearing on their faces, one of them even giggling. Of course they knew Zack quite well. He had been a senior student the previous year and now was part of their physical education classes. The wayward, puppy-like teenager always had trouble focusing if there were too many distractions, no matter what the situation. With that in mind, it was hard not to understand where the teacher was coming from.  
  
"Zack plans to stay on as my assistant for at least another year." Angeal leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms, "I believed two fully trained instructors would be more beneficial for future classes, wouldn't you agree?" he waited for them to nod in agreement, before adding, "...and perhaps this will open up the possibility for extra lessons for all students in the future."  
  
After a moment of silence, the girls seemed to accept what they were told and agreed to drop their protests on the subject. Only when he had shown the three out of the teacher's lounge, did Angeal finally allow a sigh to escape him. A grimace appeared on his face, when he heard a light clapping from behind him.  
  
"Bravo, my friend." Genesis' smug expression could be heard in his voice, "I never knew you could improvise such a convincing story on the spot like that." he complimented the other teacher in an over the top sarcastic tone, "Honestly, it would be less trouble to just cut the lessons off for Strife."  
  
"It wasn't made up, Genesis." Angeal finally turned around to walk back to his desk, giving his friend a slight glare, "I meant what I told them, but I had been hoping to keep it to myself a little longer." he explained, taking his seat, "I haven't quite figured out how I could make it all work."  
  
The brunet leaned back in his chair as he listened, "Well, that sucks." he commented when the other was finished, earning another glare, "But at least the club members seemed to take it all in. The last thing we need right now is bullying."  
  
"Bullying?" that got Angeal's attention again, "You don't think they would do that to Cloud over this?" Of course he knew the club members were a little over the top, but they were all good kids at heart.  
  
"Yes they would." Genesis stated flatly, before scoffing, "Honestly, you are too attached to thinking that everyone can be as honourable as you."  
  
The dark haired man's eyes narrowed at the other, "Now that's not true. I still put up with you after all."  
  
"Oooh, we are testy this morning." Genesis sniggered at the comeback, "But seriously, you might want to keep an eye out for that sort of thing. Cloud is the type to be targeted by others." he said, his tone more serious, "Children; teenagers especially, can be petty, unreasonable and just plain cruel."  
  
Angeal's frown deepened as he thought about it. Was he really so blind to that sort of thing? He always saw himself as a good judge of character, but what his fellow teacher was saying wasn't something he could push aside. Thinking back to his interactions with Cloud, he noticed the young teenager was quite withdrawn at first. But the small blond opened up considerably during the last few weeks. Sure she was quite and still kept to herself, but she wasn't afraid to speak her mind. By this point, he almost found it hard to believe that such a strong willed individual could be a victim of bullying.  
  
"And speaking of Strife—" Genesis' voice pulled him back from his thoughts, "I have a few concerns of my own about her... she's just not where she should." he mused, looking down at the worksheets he was marking.   
  
Angeal turned in his chair to face the other man, propping his head up with his hand, "In what way?"  
  
"She's farther behind than what I am comfortable with." the auburn haired man shrugged, not really sure how to explain it.  
  
"Did you ever think, it could be that she's just bad at your subject?"  
  
Genesis resisted the urge to roll his eyes, "Of course. But that was before Sephiroth told me he was having the same problem with her." he finally looked back at his friend, while pointing at the silver haired man sat at his desk across from them, "He can probably explain it better than me."  
  
Angeal's eyes moved from one teacher to another, "Sephiroth?" he asked, knowing that he had probably heard the whole conversation, he was sat right there after all.  
  
The Math teacher was silent for a moment, before lifting his eyes from his paper work. He grimaced slightly at being pulled into the talk, since he had things to do, but he decided to respond anyway, "As far as I can tell, Cloud is not inept to what I teach, despite having trouble focusing sometimes, so I cannot fathom why there are large gaps in her knowledge." he sighed a little, obviously more frustrated with the situation than he would like to let on, "It's almost as if she had not learnt any of it in first place."  
  
Angeal's brow frowned as he listened, "What if she hasn't?" he suggested, feeling that was a logical possibility.  
  
Sephiroth looked sharply at his friend, seeming to disagree with his thinking, "Then she would be in the year below. Almost everything she doesn't know would have been on her exams and part of her school work..." the silver haired man trailed off as he thought about it more. That of course would make sense of everything, but then why was she not in a class that fit her skill level? He and Genesis then shared a look as if a mental light switch had been flipped on for both of them.  
  
*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*  
  
"What am I, their errand boy?" Zack glared at the text on his phone, making sure he collected everything on the list, before paying for the items and leaving the store. Since he was only an assistant teacher, he wasn't needed at the school on Club Sundays, yet his lazy morning was interrupted by a message, requesting a bunch of things for that damned coffee machine in the lounge.  
  
Returning to his bike he put the shopping in the compartment under his seat and sent one last message to Lazard, to make sure that there was nothing else they needed before he headed over. Taking a moment to wait for a reply, Zack turned around and leant against his motorcycle. The teenager frowned when he could see his breath in the cold air, winter's cold was coming too fast for his liking. He was never a fan of lower temperatures, he always found it harder to muster up what little focus he usually had when it was cold. Something Angeal had found astounding to the point of laughter.  
  
Hearing his phone make a sharp beep sound, he looked back at the screen. Seeing conformation that his tasks were over, he turned around and mounted his bike. After pulling off from the curb, the nineteen year old easily maneuvered through the mid-town traffic and turned into the side roads towards the school.  
  
The area around the school was soon disturbed as he pulled into his usual space, near Angeal's car in the parking lot. After removing his helmet he checked on the shopping bag to make sure nothing was damaged during the journey, "Do they even know how to use half this stuff?" he murmured to himself, frowning at the items for the coffee machine, "They couldn't even work it before Cloud fixed it..."  
  
Zack gently bit down on his lower lip, as he felt the corners of his mouth lift. That had been happening a lot lately. No matter what he was doing or how he was feeling, a silly smile would instantly appear on his face when he thought about the little chocobo. She was just that cute— "Wait no... Damn!" he grimaced at his slip up, and pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, "Adorable, sweet, lovely... endearing? Can you even replace cute in the same sentence with that? You are endearing... isn't that endearing? Ugh, that sounds so lame!" he sighed in frustration. Finding alternatives for the simple word was much harder than he first thought, he had even asked Genesis for help, which he regretted immediately since the older man now teased him about it.  
  
It was probably silly of him to go through all this trouble and there was a good chance it would go unnoticed, but still he persisted. The night he learned that Cloud disliked the word was stuck pretty well in his mind. The way the blond had reacted, even going so far as to pull away from him still left a slight twist in his gut. That however was only a milder version of what he felt when he had found the younger teenager crying in the hall way that time. Another incident that he couldn't get out of his head. There were so many things he wanted to ask, things he was desperate to know in the hopes that maybe he could help Cloud somehow. But he knew better than to pry into someone else's life, good intentions or not. All he could do was step back and maybe she would come to him with her problems, if needed.  
  
Zack had even gone so far as to repress his impulses to affectionately touch the blond or invade her personal space as often. As difficult as it was, he would never want the younger teenager to feel uncomfortable around him. He wasn't the most subtle when it came to his feelings, so restraint took a lot of focus on his part. Which in itself, was great progress for him, as Angeal had told him twice already.   
  
There was most definitely a little mystery surrounding Cloud and Zack desperately wanted to know what it was. He liked the blond a lot and really wanted to get to know her more, since his fondness for her only got stronger over time. However even that was going to soon become a problem, considering she seemed to get along with Aerith and Tifa, _"I wonder if I should tell her about it..."_ he thought to himself, knowing that the girls probably haven't already, "How would I even..." Zack paused midsentence, after realising he was still standing in the parking lot, beside his bike, "Uhg, nice going space cadet." he chastised himself and finally made his way towards the building, shopping bag in hand.  
  
*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*  
  
Lazard had not been in the office for more than a minute, before he was hit with a barrage of questioning about Cloud Strife. _"I step out for five minutes and I come back to this..."_ he thought miserably, cursing his need for a cigarette break. The teachers of course had some genuine concerns and he was having trouble coming up with excuses. It was his own fault really. He had simply assumed the teenager would be where he should in his studies, then again, Reeve had never brought the subject up either.  
  
"L-look, I understand what you're saying." He began when he had a chance to speak, "But I'm afraid that I cannot acquire her school records. They were lost before she transferred here." the lie was awkward and forced.  
  
It must have shown, because it was met with disapproving looks and perhaps a little judgement, "Lost how exactly?" Genesis asked, impatiently drumming his fingers on his desk.  
  
_"Shit..."_ the blond repressed a grimace as the question, "As far as I was told... there was some faulty piping in the main office of her previous school, her files as well as others were ruined by water damage." he explained as smoothly as he could manage.   
  
"...and what was her previous school called again?" Sephiroth asked, his eyes narrowed slightly.  
  
Lazard tried not to visibly give away his discomfort. Now that was a question he couldn't answer, even if wanted to. Cloud was listed as missing from his old school and if the teachers here found out about that, the whole case might be in danger, "Why do you want to know that? How would that possibly help here?" he tried to feign ignorance.  
  
The silver haired man's eyes widened a little as he was momentarily stunned by that response. After a moment his expression changed from disappointed to suspicious, "Are you hiding something from us?" he asked bluntly, having known the Principal long enough to see through his lies.  
  
"Wh-what?" Lazard's face paled a little, "Of course not, why would I—"  
  
"Oh, oh! Yes you are!" Genesis almost laughed, now also catching on, "You always look like that when you are caught in a lie." he was a little shocked by the revelation, but now also slightly amused.   
  
The blond brought a hand up to partly obscure his face, in some vain attempt to hide any tells he was giving away, "I do not!"  
  
"But you must be..." Angeal finally spoke up, looking more concerned than angry, with the developing situation, "What is it you're not telling us?"  
  
When the Head Master didn't respond right away, Genesis gave a snap of his fingers, "I got it. She's another delinquent, isn't she?"   
  
Lazard pursed his lips and gave the English teacher a dirty look, "No, she is not."  
  
"Then what is it?" Sephiroth asked firmly, now completely fed up with the whole thing, "I know there's _something_."  
  
"There is nothing." the blond man gave them a stern look, attempting to reclaim some authority in this.  
  
Genesis rolled his eyes, chuckling a little, "Of course there is." he scoffed, his eyes now looking passed Sephiroth at the other teacher in the room, "Don't you agree, Valentine?" he called out, knowing the other man was close enough to have heard most of the argument, "Perhaps you are also having trouble with Strife?" he added, when there was no immediate response.  
  
Vincent did not reply to the questions, keeping his eyes glued to his book. He did however, pick up a folder from his desk and held it in front of his face, blocking them all from his peripheral vision. He was obviously far from interested in their little quarrel but aware enough to make a visual point in response.  
  
The English teacher pursed his lips, "Oh, very mature..."  
  
"Alright!" Lazard finally snapped, "There is nothing I can tell you that will remedy this problem. So there is no point in asking me anymore." he stated firmly, "You do however, have my permission to get her caught up to a level you are satisfied with. Perhaps extra study lessons." he added, clearing his throat.  
  
Genesis narrowed his eyes, "—And have mine or Sephiroth's fanclubs at our door to complain? Ha! No thank you." he scoffed, rolling his eyes at the ridiculous suggestion.  
  
Angeal frowned as he watched Lazard looked defeated again, "Maybe you both could select another student to tutor her?" he suggested, trying to take the heat off the Principal. The attempt seemed to work as the other two teachers relaxed their postures.  
  
Sephiroth was the first to nod in agreement, "I suppose that might work..." he admitted in a low tone, although he looked nowhere near wanting to forget the subject. Genesis had a pout on his face, glaring at Angeal for a moment, before he to agreed to let this slide. For now at least.  
  
Lazard felt relief wash over him, now that he was no longer on the spot about Cloud. His attention was soon caught by Zack entering the lounge, a plastic bag in hand. He took the opportunity to walk away from the teachers and talk with the teenager. He made a mental note to contact one of Reeve's associates and let them know that issues concerning the blond teenager were starting to raise suspicion.


	13. Between a rock and a hard place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Work, work and more work for Cloud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I am beyond late with this chapter. >.< I'm really sorry, I was busy with an online comic that I began uploading three weeks ago as well as getting a new job. But it's here now and I hope you enjoy it. (By this point I feel I'm just tormenting Cloud XD) Let me know what you think.

After all the added stress of now having to talk to a therapist on a weekly basis, Cloud was delighted to be called in to school before hours to talk to Mr Rhapsodos about his slipping grades. Of course he had noticed he was falling behind on his own, since it all started before he even got here. Back at his school in Nibelheim, he had been struggling with a lot of his subjects, due to skipping class on more than one occasion because of stress. At that time he was simply focusing on his plan to get enough money together and escape his uncle. Now it was back to bite him in the butt.   
  
Stopping just short of the school doors, Cloud took a moment to cringe. He had never had to deal with a teacher actually talking to him about stuff, since none previously ever took an interest. To say he was an outcast back home was an understatement. The adults tended to ignore him just like the kids. On some level he was happy that Mr Rhapsodos cared enough to bother, but it was also a little scary. He hated being confronted with his problems.  
  
With a small whine, the blond dragged his feet and entered the building. He was tired and it was way too early for anyone to be here. Mr Valentine didn't even arrive this early. Although it was probably for the best, since no one else would be around to see him visit the teacher's lounge. He didn't need to give the fan clubs anymore reasons to despise him. As he neared the office, he was hoping for some kind of miracle for the meeting to be cancelled. "Maybe I could still fake the flu..." he muttered to himself, before reluctantly knocking on the door.   
  
After a few tense seconds of silence, the door opened, "Ah, Cloud. You're just in time." Genesis greeted him, before stepping aside to let him in.  
  
Cloud smiled and nodded in response, _"Okay... you can do this."_ he told himself, trying to calm his nerves a little. He actually enjoyed English, since he understood it better than others subject. He was pretty far behind, but confident that he could catch up.   
  
"Good morning, Strife." He was greeted again, this time by the Math teacher and his confidence wavered.  
  
Cloud almost froze on the spot, a look of confusion crossed his face. Yesterday it had been Genesis who asked him to come talk about his grades, but Sephiroth seemed ready to talk to him too. The obvious reason being that it wasn't one, but two subjects that he was failing. This of course meant twice the catch up work was going to get dumped on him. After regaining his composure, he took the seat that was offered to him and waited for one of the teacher's speak.  
  
"Well..." Genesis moved towards his own desk and sat down, "I'm sure this comes as no surprise to you. We're both quite concerned with your grades."  
  
Cloud looked down at his hands, subconsciously chewing the inside of his cheek, "A-are they that bad?" he spoke up after a second.  
  
"Yes." Sephiroth's quick reply only made the blond shrink back more. This was not going to go well and he almost would rather have another awkward talk with his therapist at this point, "Strife..." the math teacher spoke again, getting the teenager's attention once more, "Did you have any problems at your previous school?"  
  
The unexpected question made Cloud's eyes widen considerably, "W-what?" his voice cracked a little. Why was he asking him something like that? What the hell was he supposed to respond with? Reeve never told him anything about a cover story of his previous school, since the principal knew about it all.  
  
"The Principal told us that your school records were lost..." Genesis explained, yet he with held the _reason_ they were given, for now, "So, we were wondering what your studies were like before you came here?" he smiled pleasantly, "Did your teachers ever talk to you?"  
  
Cloud's eyes shifted between the two teachers, as thoughts rapidly flew through his mind on what to do. The only one he could latch onto was screaming at him to run as fast as he could away from here. Hiding out at this school was supposed to be a safe place, not somewhere to be interrogated.   
  
Sephiroth raised an eyebrow as the silence stretched out further than he liked, "Is there a problem, Cloud." he asked, his tone made the blond cringe. It was always obvious when the math teacher was getting annoyed, because he would start addressing his students by their first names.  
  
"Uh... well I..." the teenager finally spoke, staling as he tried to think of something, anything, to respond with. However now that he was trying to come up with something, his mind was drawing a blank. His throat began to close up on him, making it hard to breathe. Just when the tension in the room became unbearable, Cloud heard the door behind him suddenly open, making visibly him jump.  
  
Entering the Lounge was Vincent, looking uncharacteristically annoyed and a little dishevelled. When all eyes were on him, the history teacher straightened his posture and attempted to neatened his hair a little as he walked in, "Good morning." he muttered after clearing his throat.  
  
"What happened to you?" Genesis scoffed, finding the others scruffy appearance very amusing.  
  
Vincent side glanced the other teacher as he placed his items on his desk, "It was windy outside..." he replied nonchalantly, before swiftly changing the subject, "Is there a reason for Cloud being here so early?"  
  
As his name was mentioned the teenager's shoulders stiffened, _"Crap..."_  It was probably too much to hope that they would just forget about him.   
  
"We were just discussing her low grades." Sephiroth sighed, the sour look on his face lifting a little.  
  
Vincent nodded thoughtfully as he pulled items out of his briefcase, "I see. In that case..." he picked out a few pieces of paper from the pile and then walked over to Cloud, "I took some time to isolate important events from my teaching material for your class." he explained as he handed it to the blond, "Check them over and then read the books I listed on the last page."  
  
Cloud blinked a few times before taking the offered paper, "Um...thanks." his lips pursed into a pout, "Are my grades for your class also bad?"  
  
"No, but you know nothing of the local history." Vincent answered honestly, "This will make it easier for you to catch up." turning his gaze to the other two teachers he crossed his arms, "So, what are your methods?" he asked casually, although there seemed to be a hint of smugness in his voice.  
  
Genesis' seemed a little annoyed, but kept a straight face, "Glad you asked, we were just..." his words trailed of as he looked at the silver haired man, "Are... are you texting?"  
  
"Obviously." Sephiroth answered, without so much as looking up from the screen.  
  
Now Genesis didn't bother hiding how ticked off he was, "Well, cut it out. Valentine wishes to know how we plan to assist Cloud with catching up." he forced a smile as he seemed ready to throw something at his colleague.  
  
There was a brief moment, very brief, when a slight smile came onto Sephiroth's face, before he replied, "I don't know about you, but I have arranged for another student to tutor her." he said casually, giving his shoulders a shrug.  
  
At that moment, the English teacher lost his temper and actually cussed the other out, "Bullshit!" An argument soon erupted between the pair and while Vincent tried to interject, they seemed to throw all professionalism out the window.  
  
Cloud kept his eyes fixed on his hands, he had stopped listening a while ago, a little relieved that he was no longer the focus. He took this moment to steady his breathing and calm his heart rate down. Honestly Mr Valentine's arrival could not have been more perfect. Now the blond had a moment to think up stuff to say if he were to be asked again. But while he was able to hear his own thoughts now, there sadly wasn't any explanation he could come up with that seemed convincing at all. As if hoping for inspiration to appear before him, the blond allowed his eyes to wander around the room. He soon focused on a pretty small frame, standing on one of the desks. It was hard to see from a distance, but it almost looked like a flower pressed in a glass...  
  
_"Oh that. It's nothing, just a silly little gift for someone."_ The memory of Aerith's voice pushed through to the front of his mind as he continued to stare. He turned his head from left to right, he quickly confirmed that it was the same item he saw that morning he was helping her in the greenhouse. When the realisation hit him, he immediately noticed that it was Mr Crescent's desk. To make it all the more surprising, it looked like it was on display as opposed to being shoved to the side with all the other gifts there. Why had Aerith made that for him and why would he treat it differently?  
  
The two questions swirled around Cloud's head, blocking out any other thoughts he might have been having. Was his peppy friend a secret fan club member? It didn't seem like her thing, but anything of course was possible but that—  
  
"Cloud!" The sudden annoyed voice of the Math teacher startled the teenager out of his thoughts.  
  
"Wh-what?" he asked, now staring wide eyed at the other three people in the room. They had obviously been done with the argument for a while. How long had he been zoning out for? Sephiroth looked visibly irritated, so he must have said Cloud's name more than once. Which was always a bad thing. But before a scolding came, the Math teacher's phone signalled a return text. With a huff he turned away to read it, now ignoring the blond.  
  
"I told you to put that away!" Genesis spoke through gritted teeth and scowled. When he was ignored he tossed a small note pad at the other, "Fine, be that way..." he grumbled and got up from his desk to walk away.  
  
Cloud breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed back against the chair. This morning was shaping up to be far more stressful by the minute. Honestly, why was he even here? _"It can't get any worse..."_ he thought to himself, and briefly allowed himself to believe it, until he heard the door to the lounge open again.  
  
"No, no! Don't you dare put me on hold!" Principal Lazard entered the room, talking on the phone and looking like he just rolled out of bed before putting on a suit, "No, I— oh, you bastard!" he groaned in frustration, glaring at the small device, whoever he was talking to had obviously hung up on him. Vincent cleared his throat, to catch the blond man's attention, before motioning to where Cloud was still sat. "O-oh, good morning." he smiled awkwardly at the teenager, as he straightened his glasses.  
  
Cloud stared at him for a brief moment, he'd never seen the older blond look this ruffled. The older blond always seemed so carefree and calm, "Good morning, sir." he nodded.  
  
Lazard looked from the student to his faculty and frowned, before putting on a more pleasant smile, "So, what brings you here, Cloud?" he asked loudly in a voice far too chipper when compared to how angry he sounded a moment ago. It seemed intentional and forced and the teenager had a feeling he was missing something.  
  
"She was called to discuss how she can improve her grades in a few subjects." Vincent responded to him.  
  
"Oh, I see." Lazard nodded, finally shrugging off his coat and hanging it on the wall, "Well I'm sure you all wouldn't mind if I borrowed her?" he asked but carried on without confirmation, "Cloud, I would like to speak to you for a moment." he motioned for the younger blond to follow him. The teenager wasted no time in following, more than happy to get out of that room.  
  
Once inside his office Lazard let out a heavy sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. He eventually looked back to the student, offering a tired smile, "Are you alright?" he asked.  
  
Cloud automatically nodded, "Yeah..." he paused before shaking his head, as his anxiety at the previous situation rose up suddenly, "N-no, I'm not... They asked me about my old school—"  
  
"I know, I know." Lazard interrupted, hoping to calm him before he got too upset, "I informed them that your records were lost due to water damage or something like that..." he grimaced, unable to remember exactly what he had said. He was sure that Sephiroth and Genesis planned to ask the teenager directly since he refused to tell them anymore. Had he not received a call earlier he probably wouldn't know that Cloud was called in early.  "They are a nosy bunch, but I promise they mean no harm." he told the boy confidently.  
  
The blond frown at him, not really sure what to do with this information. It did make a little sense, when they're unable to be honest about his past, of course people would be suspicious. He probably would have suffered a panic attack had Mr Valentine not arrived when he did,  "W-what should I do?" he asked the older man.  
  
The Principal looked just as lost on what to do, but still offered advice, "Go along with any catch up work they offer." he smiled giving the teenager a pat on the shoulder, "They will have nothing to complain about, or look into if you're grades are satisfactory."   
  
The smaller blond nodded, "I'll do my best, sir."  
  
Lazard nodded in return, before turning back to the door and opening it, "Now, escape while you can."   
  
Cloud allowed himself to smile a little, "Yes sir. Thank you." he spoke softly and re-entered the lounge. To his relief Sephiroth was still looking at his phone and Genesis seemed to be sulking at his desk, as he read a book. He took the opportunity to just leave. He knew it wouldn't be the last he heard of it all, but right now, he just wanted out. Once in the hallway he relaxed completely and allowed himself to breath.  
  
Glancing down at the notes Mr Valentine gave him, he figured that he might as well read through them, since he had a little time. Perhaps he would even go to the library and check out some of the books on the list, "Where was it again...?" he mumbled to himself, as he began walking in a random direction. He hadn't even been there yet and only had a vague idea of where it was.  
  
After eighteen minutes of wandering the halls, Cloud eventually found the stupid library, but it was still closed. It wasn't a big deal, since he could just come back later, but it was still frustrating. Studying was hard enough without extra obstacles in the way. _"Well, they can't say I didn't try."_ he reasoned with himself as he made his way to home room.  
  
"I'm sorry for all this..." Hearing the distinct voice of the Math teacher, Cloud froze just as he was about to turn a corner. Slowly he leant forward and peeked around the wall, sure enough, the silver haired man was just down the hall.  
  
"It's okay." a new, yet familiar, female voice spoke, "Although, it was a surprise. You asking me for help." she giggled.  
  
_"No way..."_ Cloud leant a little further out to see the second person. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw Aerith there too. While they were pretty far from him, he could still hear them, thanks to the echo in the corridors.  
  
"I know it was a little early to text." Sephiroth started apologising again, but she stopped him.  
  
"I was awake anyway." She smiled, "It was my turn to make breakfast."  
  
_"Text?"_ Cloud's brow furrowed in confusion, before he remembered what happened in the teacher's lounge. He then recalled seeing the pressed flower frame and his thoughts erupted in unbearable curiosity and slight shock. According to the school rules, there was to be no contact between students and teachers on a personal level, so what was he witnessing now?  
  
_"Th-they couldn't be..."_ Cloud's felt his cheeks burn at the scandalous thought. Not only was it mind blowing that there could be such a relationship happening around him, but he couldn't help but marvel at how their personalities didn't match up. They would be the last pair of people he would put together. But he still couldn't deny what he was seeing right in front of him.  
  
As they continued to chat, Cloud pulled away from where he was and walked a different, longer way to his class room. As shocking as it all ways, it was none of his business, so he would just have to put it aside and focus on more important things.  
__________  
  
He could not focus.  
  
It had been hours! But every time Cloud thought he had put it aside, his mind just wandered right back to what he saw this morning. It was becoming annoying. He glared down at his science note book, casually drawing swirls in the margin. It was the last lesson of the day, and the science teacher decided that the students could use it to do extra research, since she wasn't able to have the class experiment ready in time. Rereading the textbooks were not helping to catch his attention at all as his mind was speeding down a one-way track. Stealing a glance at the green eyed girl sat across from him, he had to wonder what she could get out of a relationship with someone like Mr Crescent. She was bubbly and outgoing, while he seemed much more reserved. They would just totally clash right?  
  
"Mnn!" The blond groaned aloud and let his head drop onto the table with a thud, causing it to shake. He couldn't believe he was acting like some obsessed gossip, desperate to tell someone and theorise about what he stumbled upon.  
  
"Cloud?" Tifa's voice caught his attention, "You okay?" she asked, giving his shoulder a shake. When she got no reply, she grabbed either side of the blond's head and lifted it, "Hey, there you are." she in a childish tone, as if playing peek-a-boo with a toddler, "Oh, don't pout. You need to lighten up."  
  
"Shut up..." Cloud attempted to look annoyed as he pulled away, but a smile crept onto his face all the same, "I do not." he huffed and swatted her arm away from him, "I just have a lot on my mind..."  
   
Tifa lent on her arm, tilting her head as she looked at her friend, "Thinking about all the catch up work you gotta do?" she asked, sympathy lacing her tone.  
  
"I guess..." The blond nodded, before he actually thought about what she said. Confusion soon filled his mind, as he had yet to tell the girls about the meeting with the teachers. "How did you know?" he asked as calmly as he could. Tifa rose an eyebrow, as if surprised he asked. She said nothing however and simply pointed at Aerith.  
  
For a moment, the smaller brunette grimaced, but managed to put on a happy smile, "I hadn't told her yet Tifa..." she sighed, before looking at the blond directly, "Mr Crescent asked me to help tutor you with Math."  
  
_"So that was it..."_ Cloud thought, as he recalled the half conversation he picked up on, "I'm glad it's you I guess..." he offered her a genuine smile. It could have been so much worse. He knew that a few of the snarky, stuck up girls in his class were pretty good at Math and the thought of having one of them tutoring him, made him was to crawl under a rock and die.   
  
"Aw, thank you." Aerith seemed very pleased with that, as he smile had brightened considerably. Perhaps she had been a little concerned about tell him.  
  
Tifa lifted her arm a little, "I'm also available, if you need help." she added, playfully pouting a little.  
  
"Of course." Cloud rolled his eyes and gently nudged her shoulder with his own.  
  
"Ohh! Before I forget..." Aerith said suddenly, as she moved  her chair back a little. After making sure the teacher wasn't looking, she pulled her shoulder bag up and opened it. Once she found what she was looking for, she flashed the blond a grin, "Here, you can borrow this." she told him, before sliding a small book across to him.  
  
Cloud reached out and automatically caught it, before turning it over. It was wrapped up in pink tissue paper, with a little heart sticker sealing the folds, "Uh, thanks?" he looked at her, wondering what the punch line was.  
  
"Don't look now. Later." The brunette giggled, resting her chin in her hands.  
  
The blond rolled his eyes, "Alright, fine. But what is it?" For a moment he wondered that it might have something to do with Math tutoring, since they had just been talking about it, but it didn't look like that kind of book.  
  
Before he could think more on it, Tifa suddenly patted his back, "Put it away. Shalua's heading over!" she whispered.  
  
Panicking slightly, Cloud quickly pulled the book close and managed to slip it into his backpack, before the Science teacher, Ms Rui reached their table, "How are you girls doing?" she asked with a smile, "Is there anything you're struggling with?" she asked.  
  
Cloud immediately felt that question was directed at him, since she was looking his way, "Uh, well yeah..." he admitted. While he had been trying to read through everything, he still couldn't grasp it, "Um, my old school never went into Materia research..."  
  
"Oh, that makes sense." The teacher nodded, "It is considered a controversial subject to teach in schools. I know it's complicated, so I will pull some extra notes together for you. Okay?"  
  
Cloud just slowly nodded in response as she then moved onto the next table. He wasn't really sure where the sudden interest in helping him specifically came from. Ms Rui was an attentive teacher, but she wouldn't single out a student without reason. So either she noticed he was behind or...  
  
_"Damn it..."_ the blond grimaced when he realised. She must have heard about his failing grades in the teacher's Lounge at some point today. It almost felt like the faculty were coming together like some sort of intervention group, to pull his grades back up. It wouldn't surprise him, not after that strange meeting. He wasn't ungrateful or anything, but he didn't feel comfortable knowing so many people focusing on his problems at once. The thought of them talking about him, made him cringe inside, even if it wasn't anything bad.  
  
"Mnnn..." Cloud groaned aloud, his head forehead meeting the desk once again. While this has not been the worst day ever, it was certainly up in the top ten.  
  
The girls simply watched their friend for a short while, before Aerith spoke up, "So, I was thinking we could do a study session at my house. Is this Saturday good for you?" she asked him.  
  
The blond kept his head down, muttering his response, "...whatever..."   
_______  
  
Cloud had dared to hope that Ms Rui was the last teacher to approach him that afternoon, but as it turned out almost every teacher wanted to give him something regarding their class. What started off as a few things here and there, turned into a large wad of paper, big enough to have its own folder. Just looking at it drained all the energy from his body. How was he supposed to get through it all?  
  
For once the blond was happy to enter his lonely apartment, at least he had some form of peace there. After tossing his backpack onto the coffee table, he turned and flopped heavily onto the couch. Instinctively he pulled the large duvet around himself, ready to just fall asleep. He probably would have done just that, had something not caught his eye. Peaking out of the top of his school bag, was the tissue paper wrapped book that Aerith had given him.   
  
With curiosity over riding his fatigue, Cloud pulled himself back up into a seating position and picked the book up, careful to not rip the tissue paper at he pulled it off. Once the cover was revealed it took him a moment to recognise the red gradient pattern on it. A hot flush ran up his neck and across his face, reaching as far as his ears, "Sh-she wouldn't..." he sputtered to himself. He opened the cover to find a little memo from his mischievous friend, letting him know that she thought he should _finish_ reading it, _"She would..."_  
  
With a frustrated sigh, the blond tossed the book back onto the table, and rubbed his face. He wasn't really interested in reading it, he never meant to read it in the first place, so there was no point in her even giving it to him. He was tired and there were half a dozen other things he should to read anyway. He wasn't going to waste his time on a useless thing like that.   
  
He couldn't!  
  
He shouldn't...  
  
...He did.


End file.
